A Kiss and a Melody
by Koe Ishida
Summary: She awoke to a drizzling winter sky, in a soaking wet cardboard box by a busy city street. She awoke with no memories but two words and two strangers crouching over her, concerned and confused. And now they wish to take her home.
1. Chapter 1: Winter Rain

**(A/N) Oh my goooooshhh! It's my verry berry first story here! Hai, Fanfiction!**

**Let me see here, explaining the story a bit...**

**I wanted to create a story about the Vocaloids being Vocaloids. Not humans, but rather androids that sing! (I HOPE) This story is going to be sad, happy, nostalgic, and enjoyable all at the same time! I'm trying to set the mood. And I created my own story behind the Vocaloids, that is very deep and (I HOPE) interesting :D I hope you enjoy! Since it's my first fanfic, reviews and critique is so very much appreciated! Kk, have fun!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Vocaloid at all, never did. Probably never will D: It's a fanfiction. I'm just a fan.**

_Hatsune Miku._

That was all that was in her head as she awoke.

It was a drizzling winter afternoon when she awoke, huge, black clouds tumbling in the dark sky. As she slowly began opening her sapphire blue eyes, her senses booted up, and she could hear the hushed murmurs of a somewhat melancholy rain. The mixed scent of long, showery days and busy city fumes wafted through the air. The first thing she noticed was the hum of the fast-paced cars down a nearby road, a small detail she accounted in her memory. The second thing was the two people crouching in front of her.

"Are you alright, young girl?" one stranger was a woman with short, dark brown hair that fell over her cheeks as she crouched. She held an umbrella over her and another stranger's head. The other stranger was silent, yet a slight look of concern filled his eyes, colored the deepest of blues. His hair, an equally oceanic blue, brushed his eyelashes, a tad bit dampened by the rainfall.

Having the Japanese language installed in her system memory, she was able to understand what the worried woman was asking of her. Her system scanned through itself for any injuries, infections or damages inside her internal contrivances to see if she was truly "alright". The woman seemed to be knowledgeable of what the girl was doing in front of her, and waited patiently. The man next to her straightened up and slid his hands in his pants pockets as he waited, gazing at nearby cars flowing swiftly through the city road, spraying water under their tires as they drove.

The young girl's eyes glowed as she silently stared at the two strangers. Her face seemed impassive—her "emotions" patch had not yet fully booted up. At last, her system completed its scan, and she responded, her eyes brightening.

"I am fine." Her voice was very feminine and charming, and made the woman's eyes grow warm in front of her. The man, on the other hand, only looked at her with a bit of puzzlement in his eyes.

"How can you be fine? We found you in this soggy old cardboard box on the side of the street. Thank God there were some plants in front of you—your hair color isn't exactly natural."

The girl with supposedly unnaturally-colored hair paused for another moment to process all the stranger informed her on.

*_Found in a cardboard box, soaked in water and not in the best condition. Box is located on side of unknown street._

_Processing…processing…_

_-Cardboard box is presumed wet from current rainfall. Stranger presumed to have enough data collected of cardboard box to comprehend that it is not new. Two options possible loaded: Stranger had seen the cardboard box previously in a better condition and can now conclude cardboard box is old by the fact it is in worse condition than previously; Stranger is making an assumption that the cardboard box is old using the collected data: 1. It is in bad condition 2. It is damaged. More data unloaded possible._

_- Unknown street is presumably in location of heavy rainfall, and of high population of beings that operate automobiles._

_- Being "God" confirmed._

_Processing…processing…_

_*Plants in view confirmed. Hair color alleged unnatural. Definition of unnatural hair color currently unconfirmed. Possible solutions loading:_

_- Stranger has yet to claim second Stranger's hair of unnatural color. Second Stranger's hair color: brown. Brown is assumedly natural color of hair._

_- Stranger has yet to claim own hair color unnatural. Stranger's hair color: blue. Dark blue. Dark blue is assumedly natural color of hair._

_Currently unsolved problems processing…_

_Stranger questions system scanning result. Answer to question loading…_

"She is fine, see? I don't see any problems with her," the brown-haired woman replied to the man in a way that caused the one they were discussing of to assume they were close. "And you're the one to talk. Your hair color isn't exactly natural either, Kaito."

_Solution to question found by outside being. Solution1 to definition of unnatural hair color terminated. Stranger with unnaturally colored hair confirmed to be labeled "Kaito"._

"Bah, whatever…" the man, Kaito, replied with an annoyed and tired tone of voice, throwing a bothered glare at the woman next to him. He glanced at the girl in front of the two, and scowled at her in an irritated manner. "Oi, can you stand up?"

The woman reached a kind hand out to the girl who was still nestled in the damp cardboard box, and chuckled.

"Don't worry about him, he's just cranky because he didn't get his morning ice cream today," the woman whispered tauntingly.

"I can hear you!" snapped Kaito.

The girl took the teasing woman's hand, her bright blue eyes lightening up just the slightest bit more. They were playing with each other, speaking so casually. Something about that made her "emotions" patch start running.

Her sense of balance was fully uploaded, and she steadied herself against the woman's hand. Standing, she looked down at her feet and to the waterlogged grass drowning in the drizzling rain. She had on long, black boots that showed with a polished gleam, and the bottom of them were colored a bright blue. The mint-green grass was so drenched a small puddle had formed by the girl's feet. She gazed at her reflection.

Long, teal-colored locks cascaded down her shoulders, held up in two twin tails on her head. Through the distorted reflection, her processor could make out a silver top and bright blue tie. After she collected as much data as she could from the image constantly being warped by the splashing rain, she looked up at the brown-haired woman, a question forming in her mind.

"Who are you?" her language was very straight-forward and formal. Her "language" patch currently only held the most basic sentence structures.

"My name is Meiko," the woman answered, a friendly smile forming on her lips. "And this is Kaito." She gestured her hand in his direction. He stood coolly under the umbrella, his eyes dreary and relaxed in a bored expression. His blue scarf was wrapped around his neck and covered half of his face. He muttered a "Nice to meet you" under his breath and looked away, pretending to be uninterested.

The woman, Meiko, continued genuinely grinning at the twin tailed girl.

"What's your name?" she asked.

The teal-haired girl took a long pause, completely silent. Meiko, as usual, patiently waited as she gazed at the emotionless girl, a small smile still gracing her lips. Yet the girl wasn't quite as emotionless as she was before; her expression appeared to have formed into a slightly more somber one, the gloom of nostalgia filming over her distant eyes. She stayed like that for so long, Kaito couldn't help but move his concentration from the skyscrapers far in the distance and glance over at the silent girl, appearing bothered. "Hey," he grew tired of the silence. "She asked you a—"

"Hatsune Miku."

The blue-haired boy stopped mid-sentence, now simply staring at the girl, Hatsune Miku. He couldn't hide the fact her solemn, distant eyes intrigued him. Somehow, he thought, he could understand her, if he knew her story. Meiko and he both knew what she was.

Whatever caused her eyes to be filled with such melancholy, he'd like to know.

"Oh, I see!" Meiko cheered. "Very nice to meet you, Hatsune—"

Suddenly, Kaito took a step forward, towards Miku. Although his calm expression never left his face, Meiko was surprised he actually joined in on the introduction, as though he cared. He reached a hand out to Miku.

"My name is Shion Kaito. Pleased to meet you."

Miku simply stared at Kaito's hand in confusion. She tilted her head, the same blank expression stayed put on her face.

"Ah, jeez, it's called a hand-shake," Kaito groused, grabbing the puzzled girl's hand and shaking it. "That's what you do when you meet people. The Western way, anyway."

Meiko chuckled. "Looks like Kaito's picking up a few things from Leon, Lola, and Miriam."

For a moment, Miku only glanced back and forth from the two, processing the new information. At last, she said confidently, "New data collected! Definition of hand-shake confirmed."

Kaito could only stare and sigh.

"Uh-Uhm! So! Hatsune Miku, why don't we get out of this rain and take you to your new home? What'd you say?" Meiko waved her hand and laughed apprehensively.

Kaito carelessly swung around and began walking away from the two. "C'mon," he called, though not very enthusiastically, "I'm not waiting for you guys."

He could hear Meiko nag behind him. "Jeez, Kaito, always so quick to go!" he could feel her place a hand on her hip, then smile to Miku, "Let's go now, Hatsune-chan."

He heard her heels against the concrete for a few steps, yet then halted. "Hatsune-chan?"

A slight pause.

And then, a feminine, innocent voice.

"Home?"

Kaito stopped in his tracks.

He let the rain, now only a misty sprinkle floating from the cool grey sky, shower over his deep blue hair. Meiko had stopped walking as well, and the trio stood in silence for another moment. All that could be heard was the soft murmurs of the rain, the humming of the on-going cars, and the daily city noises far in the distance.

_That feeling…_

Meiko tried speaking up, but only choked on her breath.

_To wonder…what home is…_

At last, Kaito turned around, tossing his head over his shoulder. For once, he didn't look annoyed—his eyes were warm, slightly distant and with just a hint of sadness in them. His lips tilted up into just the slightest of smiles, though one of the most captivating and kindest.

"Yeah," he said, gently. "Home."

He reached his hand out to her. "C'mon," his voice remained soft. "Let's go."

Meiko gawked at Kaito, but quickly, her face relaxed in an appreciative smile. She then turned that smile to Miku, and nodded her head to her.

Miku hesitated for another long moment, her eyes just the slightest bit wider. At last, her face, as well, dissolved into a brilliant grin, so bright it caught Kaito off guard. He gaped at her before she trotted over to him and grabbed his hand. Then he shook the surprise away and lowered his eyes before muttering, "You too, Meiko."

Meiko chuckled and followed behind, hovering the umbrella over their heads as the rain drizzled on a cozy winter afternoon.

**(A/N) Did ya enjoy et? I hope it wasn't too long...normally my chapters are the size of light novel chapters, around 8 pages or roughly 2,000 words. Reviews please! And the story will unfold as you go on. 3**


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to the Family

**(A/N) Yap, I uploaded part 2 pretty fast w Got bored. You guys...I love you so much. You make me happy deep inside my soul OwO I honestly expected no reviews whatsoever. But I have found I love them so 3 Please review and enjoy! And of course, the disclaimer of chapter 1 counted for the entirety of this story- all chapters! I do not own Vocaloid.~!**

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><p>When they arrived to what they had told Miku was "home", Kaito opened the door for the girl and Meiko ushered her in. The house was cozy and warm compared to the harsh cold of the winter air outside. Fascinated, Miku ogled in awe at all the things around her that made up the house—paintings on the wall, trinkets here and there on drawers, candles and books scattered around the surfaces. It was a simple, Japanese-styled home with bamboo floors and sliding doors. Suddenly, a woman bustled through the hallway in front of them with a broom in one hand, a dustpan in the other, a cell phone pressed between her shoulder and ear, and somehow managing to paint her nails a pretty shade of magenta as she handled all the rest.<p>

"Aa, yeah yeah!" the woman chuckled heartily in the phone, shaking her head to shift her raven-black hair out of her eyes. "I know, right! You go 'n try to make everybody happy, but there's always gon' be those picky motherfu— Oh! Meiko, Kaito, you're home! And—who's this?"

Miku could not understand the first part of her conversation; it was not Japanese, the only language in her system memory. From the woman's dark skin, unique and enchanting eyes, and luscious, exotic lips, Miku assumed she was not native to Japan.

Meiko clasped her hands on Miku's petite shoulders and said in a cheery tune, "This is the new member of the family, Hatsune Miku-chan!" Kaito merely looked away with his hands shoved in his pockets, annoyed again.

The multitasking woman stopped dead in doing anything she was originally doing all at once, and simply gawked at Meiko, her eyes bulging. Silence consumed the room, except for the muffled pitter-patter of rain against the window. It was so quiet, the faint voice over the phone could even be heard: "Hello~? Lola?"

"New member?" the woman gasped.

Meiko nodded gleefully.

"Like, one of us?" the woman persisted. The voice over the phone also persisted, but to no avail. Meiko nodded once more, still beaming.

"And she'll be living with is?" the woman continued standing frozen, waiting for Meiko to once again eagerly nod. Kaito let out an irritated sigh. Miku simply stood, slightly confused.

Suddenly, the non-Japanese woman dropped everything she was holding—the broom and dustpan clattered to the floor, the phone clashed against the bamboo tiles then slid, and the nail polish splattered all over—and tackled Miku in a hug that took her so far aback, she shrieked and fell to the floor along with the attacker. In shock, Meiko and Kaito became as frozen as statues.

"NICE TO MEET YOU~~!" The woman shrieked in pure joy as she squeezed Miku and planted her face in between the woman's breasts, suffocating her. "My name's LOLA! What was your name again? Miku-chan? MIKU-CHAN! Call me Lola-nee-chan! Mmmkay darling?" She at last let Miku go, who was wheezing for air.

"O…kay…" Miku choked.

"Go on, go on, say it," Lola insisted, just as a man with short blonde hair strode into the room. He looked puzzled at a girl with teal twin tails who was mumbling the words "Lola…nee…chan…"

"Meiko, Kaito. Who might this be?" he asked. Miku peered at the man and kept in account that his voice was very mature, and his style of speech was very formal and prince-like.

"This is the new member of the family we found, Hatsune Miku-chan," Meiko explained again. "Hatsune-chan, this is Leon." She gestured towards the blonde-haired man.

The man, Leon, gracefully swept over to Miku and smoothly took her hand in his. He knelt down below her and closed his eyes, smiling elegantly.

"I am pleased to meet such a lovely princess as yourself, ojou-sama." With that, he kissed her hand, portraying the perfect glittery, flowery prince.

Miku, on the other hand, was determined to show her new knowledge on how to greet someone she just met. She clutched his hand and shook it precisely the way Kaito had shook hers, and said with absolute confidence, "Pleased to meet you! My name is Hatsune Miku."

The prince's glitter fell from above him and he froze. Soon after, he and everyone else fell into silence as Kaito facepalmed himself, except for Lola who was dancing around Miku joyously.

"Oh, silly you~" she sang, but Kaito interrupted her song.

"Leon, Lola." His voice was flat.

"YES, SIR!" the two stood upright in a saluting position.

Suddenly, he twisted his head over to them and, although his bangs shadowed over his eyes, they could feel his glower crawling up their spines. One eye glimmered.

"Where was my morning ice cream I had been saving for today?"

The two he directed his wicked glare at trembled in fear.

"Uh-uhm…it melted." Leon explained in a quivering voice.

"Melted, indeed…" Kaito muttered, "Melted…in **YOUR GUYS' STOMACHS**!" he at last shouted dramatically.

Leon and Lola squealed and huddled into a corner, whimpering.

"We're sorry! We're so sorry! PLEASE FORGIVE US OH MIGHTY LORD OH MASTER!" they sobbed.

"I NEED SOME DAMN ICE CREAM AND I NEED IT NOW, YOU WORTHLESS TRASH!"

As Kaito began shouting very colorful words at the two helpless ice cream-stealing culprits, Meiko could only laugh nervously towards Miku.

"You know…he usually isn't like this…" she insisted. "Only when he doesn't get his ice cream." She added. Miku merely observed the malicious Kaito, her eyes slightly wide with interest.

"But," Meiko continued, her voice growing a bit more serious, "What's weird is, he wasn't as grumpy to you as I thought he'd be. He actually seemed interested in getting to know you."

Miku filed that data in her memory folders, and Kaito was at last silenced by the slide of the front door.

"I'm home~!"

The whole group turned to see a woman step into the room, her hands full of a mountain of groceries. She slipped off her shoes, and at last said exasperatingly, "A little help here?"

The whole lot of them (for different reasons) rushed over to assist the woman, who had blonde hair, yet it was much paler than Leon's, almost silvery. Minus Miku, who simply stumbled over to them all, following naively.

Leon and Lola hastily grabbed a few of the grocery bags and scurried to the kitchen counter in an attempt to escape the room, and Kaito's wrath. Meiko always helped with groceries, out of generosity. Kaito swiftly grabbed the majority of the bags and dashed to the kitchen table, robbing the blonde woman of all of the bags. She sighed an exhausted sigh, and turned to face Miku in puzzlement.

"Who's she?" the woman turned to Meiko, who had just returned from taking the groceries.

Meiko, once again, introduced Hatsune Miku. "And Hatsune-chan, this is Miriam-nee-san," she concluded.

Miriam grinned, giving off the ambiance of an elderly sister. "Hello there, Hatsune-san."

Miku was about to reach her hand out and shake Miriam's but Meiko hurriedly cut her off.

"Hey, Miriam-nee-san, have you seen Ann-chan at all today?"

"No, I haven't," replied Miriam, "She left a note saying she's working today, both her jobs. I believe she must be quite busy."

Meiko's face darkened. "She shouldn't be working so hard. I told her she doesn't need to do that. Leon has a job as well as Lola. We make enough money to support this family."

"She insisted." Miriam said frankly. "And I also believe she's been gone for something else…" her voice lowered. "Although she didn't say, I have a hunch she's also searching for her sister out there."

Meiko nodded. "Oh, Ann-chan…I can't believe she's still looking."

Miriam agreed, and looked to the floor.

At that point, after patiently waiting, Miku reached for Miriam's hand and shook it twice. "Pleased to meet you! My name is Hatsune Miku."

Meiko facepalmed herself silently as Miriam stared at Miku in utter confusion.

"Let's just go eat in the kitchen…" Meiko muttered, trudging out of the room.

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><p>When they arrived at the kitchen, they found themselves staring upon a delighted Kaito and cowering Leon and Lola. Kaito had a tub of ice cream in his hands; Leon and Lola were huddled in a beat-up cardboard box in the corner of the room that Kaito found in a dumpster especially to put them in when they pissed him off. He called it "Cleaning up the Trash."<p>

"It solves the problem of littering," Kaito explained to Miku as he swallowed another ice-cream-spoonful of his favorite dessert. "I'm jus' helpin' gettin' rid of 'dem pollution." He gulped. "So Miriam! I see you bought some ice cream! Isn't today beautiful~?"

"Dearest Kaito, I believe that ice cream has intoxicated you, and you are going slightly insane."

"Oh dun be sillyyy!" the blue-haired boy exclaimed as he turned to Miku. "Since you're my newest friend, you deserve some ice cream too!"

The girl was given her very own bowl, and took a spoonful. Sheshivered.

"Cold!"

After learning how to not chew on the ice cream, however, she found it positively delicious.

"I'm glad you agree!" gushed Kaito. "See? See? A great friend!"

Leon and Lola remained in the box.

"Monster!" Lola shouted, receiving a terrifying death glare from her mighty lord oh master.

"It isn't fair!" cried Leon, "I wanna talk to the new girl!"

"Simply because she is a girl, correct?" Miriam asked bluntly. Leon continued whining.

Kaito merrily finished off his third tub of ice cream. Meiko slumped in her chair, muttering "I need some sake after this…"

And Miku merely observed the entire group, until at last, she abruptly broke into a giant beam.

This, and thegleeful giggle that came with her luminous smile, caused all of the chaos around her to cease. Everyone stared at her for a long, dead-silent moment.

Lola's eyes shimmered with awe; Miriam gave a genuine smile back to Miku; Leon and Kaito had widened eyes and a brush of strawberry pink across their cheeks. Meiko chuckled and asked, "Why are you smiling so big, Hatsune-chan?"

"You all!" Miku enthused, giggling, "You all are such good friends, and so funny! You are like family."

At last, everyone else couldn't help but grin back at the twin tailed girl. Miriam chuckled to herself as she folded her arms across her chest and nodded. It was true—they _were_ like family. Meiko, sitting across from Miku, rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands, silently giggling with Miku. Of course, Lola was about ready to leap out of her Trash Box and pounce on the young girl again. And Kaito, for the second time that day, found himself smiling a warm and friendly smile towards the teal-haired girl herself. He also found himself patting her head as she took it in and continued to beam.

"Welcome to the family," Leon said through his own benign smile.

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><p><strong>(AN) A pretty light-hearted chapter, isn't it w Hah, tragedy's com****ing soon do. w w Who's gunna die. . .? *Holds up a frightened Kaito***

**JK X3 Too many people love him. Including me w Reviews plz!**


	3. Chapter 3: Teaching Time

**(A/N) Hai! Chapter three took a bit longer to write...gomenee! ^w^; It's slightly longer as well, but has a lot of dialogue. Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

**Btw, thank you to my reviewers! I've already read some of your works, and I'll be reading more soon! (Cuz that's what I do for my reviewers, I read their work and review/favorite/subscribe to theirs :D WANNA REVIEW NAO?)**

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><p><em><span>Teaching Time With Kaito<span>_

"LESSON ONE!" announced Kaito, folding his arms and pointing a finger up in the air, as if to show off his (rather minimal) intelligence. He stood in front of a sitting and fully-attentive Miku, her wide, vivacious eyes focusing solely on the azure-haired man in front of her. Encircling the teacher and student were the rest of the family in the living room of their small yet cozy house—Leon, Lola, Meiko, and Miriam, all wearily observing the nonsensical "teachings" Kaito declared he would give to the naïve, teal-haired girl.

"My God," Meiko half-muttered, half-whispered to Miriam beside her, "how did a fight over ice cream turn into this?"

"Well," Miriam tilted her head up, studying the simple, white electric fan hanging from the ceiling as she thought. "It all started just a few minutes ago…"

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><p><em><span>Just a few minutes ago<span>_

After the shares of smiles and laughter, Meiko couldn't resist any longer and brought out the bottles of sake. Everyone was given a cup or two—minus Miku, for the rest of the group couldn't bear to see her intoxicated. After a few slurred jokes and roomfuls of hilarity, Lola smashed her third cup on to the table and caught her breath.

"So, so! Miku-chan," although Lola's words overran each other, Miku perked up at the sound of her name. "Where are you from?"

Miku paused, people around her still guffawing from Leon's joke that Miku hadn't enough collected data of "human behaviors" to understand. She processed what Lola had just inquired.

_Processing…processing…_

_Statement directed towards system. Statement loading…_

"_Souu! Somikk uchaan…ahaha! Aha…werer…werer YOU from hmm? Ahaha!.."_

_Sorting through incomprehensible statement…_

_Sorting…sorting…_

"_So, so! Miku-chan…ahaha! Aha…where are…where are YOU from? Hmmm? Ahaha!"_

_Processing…processing…_

"_Lola" questioned where "Hatsune Miku" had originally existed in._

_Possible solutions loading…_

…

_No possible solutions found._

…

"Um…" Miku looked down at her hands folded in her lap, that somber expression Kaito had noticed earlier returning. "I have no answer in which to reply to your question…"

Everyone's laughter finally began quieting down as they all gazed at the strangely gloomy-looking girl.

"No answer?" pondered Leon. "You mean that you don't know where you came from?"

As Miku shook her head, still focusing on her hands clenched in her lap, Miriam leaned over to Meiko and whispered, "So she doesn't know who her…creator is?"

Meiko shook her head and whispered back, "We found her on the side of the road in a cardboard box. I believe she had just awakened then."

Miriam's eyes bulged as she stared at Meiko. _Just awakened right then…?_

"So, Hatsune-san…" the silvery-blonde woman reticently glanced at the tealette, stuttering the slightest bit, "…you…don't really understand a lot of what's going on right now, do you?"

After a minute of processing the information, Miku shook her head. "I do not," she replied frankly, yet keeping her feminine tone, "Therefore, I cannot share your laughter, nor answer the majority of your questions."

Meiko and Miriam eyed each other briefly before concluding silently to each other, with a quick nod; _Perhaps she just didn't understand the question._

The two women refused to believe that easily that she had just booted up at the time Meiko and Kaito found her. That would mean, after all, that her creator did nothing but pack her in a cardboard box and dump her on the side of the road without even beginning her "life"…

The room's quiet atmosphere was abruptly shattered by a sudden, outlandish shout:

"THAT JUST WON'T DO!"

Everyone stared at Kaito, who had flown out of his seat and was now standing on his chair in a firm, determined pose. "Stared", perhaps, is not quite the most adequate phrase—maybe "throwing him a facial expression that was somewhere between 'flabbergasted' and 'oh God what the hell are you doing this time', exhibited through their bulging eyes and half-opened mouths" is more suit.

Save for Miku, who merely gazed up at the boy clenching his fists in the air, confused and blank-expressioned, as usual.

"No, no, no," Kaito continued, folding his arms against his chest and lowering his head in certainty. "You can't just go along with it all and not understand any of it." He balled his fists once again and thrusted them into the air, his face beyond exaggeratingly distressed.

"How could you ever SURVIVE in this world?" he cried, getting quite a few funny stares.

A perplexed, impassive expression permeated Miku's face as she continued gazing at the strange man. She tilted her head.

"Now, that's it! I, Shion Kaito, am going to teach you the ins and outs of LIFE ITSELF! Come with me~" and with that, he grabbed the young girl's hand and dashed to the living room next door, four, must I say,_ defeated_ stares following him there.

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><p>"And that's how we got here," concluded Miriam.<p>

Meiko stared to the floor, resting her chin in between her index finger and thumb in a pondering manner, and nodded. "You're right, you're right…"

_Why would Kaito be so ridiculous?_ She thought to herself, _Is there a reason he so quickly changed the subject? Does he know what really happened to Hatsune-chan…?_

"So, disciple," despite the absurdity of what he was doing, Kaito spoke with utter seriousness, "do you know how to say 'I don't know' in Japanese?"

Steadying a drunk and stumbling Lola, Leon gave an undermining stare, thinking, _Obviously, he _just said_ 'I don't know' in Japanese…_

"'I don't know.'" answered Miku, equally as serious.

"You _don't?_ Well, I'll TEACH YOU HOW!" exclaimed Kaito joyously. Everyone sighed and grumbled to themselves around him. Miku tilted her head once again.

"Well, you see," the blue-haired "teacher" began, "When you don't understand something, or don't know the answer, you say 'I don't know'. Then, you ask someone what the answer is, and learn it! Any questions?"

The tealette took a moment to process the new information she learned. Then, she asked, "May I ask you a question?"

"Good question~ Good question~ Nice start. Go on!" Kaito gushed, like he really was a proud teacher. The surrounding crowd was, by now, wondering why on Earth they were even there at this point.

"Where am I from?"

"…eh?"

This caught Kaito off guard for a moment, so he only looked at Miku with a 'deer-in-the-headlights' expression, even though she earnestly asked, and all her face portrayed was absolute seriousness.

At last, his face softened, and he stammered, "Aa…I don't know where you're from."

Miku paused for a second, looking blank, of course.

"You're turn," she finally announced, only receiving a puzzled stare from everyone around her.

"When you don't know something, you say 'I don't know'. Then, you ask someone what the answer is, and learn it. Ask me what the answer is, Kaito-sensei."

Not once had she diverted her attention away from the man this entire time. He hesitated, then closed his eyes and sighed.

"Kaito-sensei was wrong," he said, looking down at her, "sometimes, you can't ask people for the answer because they don't know it."

He knelt down until he was face-to-face with the girl, whose eyes followed him down.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where you're from, Miku."

A long silence engulfed the room.

Then, Miku broke into a grin and declared, "I see! Next lesson!"

The whole room's eyes fell to the floor in a grumbling defeat.

Suddenly, the still-intoxicated Lola (she takes longer than the others to shake it off) pounced on Kaito, screeching, "You're an awful teacher! I wanna teach Miku stuffz!"

"GAH! GET OFF ME—HEY, WHERE'D YOU GET THAT ROPE AND DUCT TAPE-? -MMPH-!"

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><p><em><span>Teaching Time with Lola<span>_

"So, so! Miku-chan~! I'mma be your new teacher now~, kaaaay? Oh, don't worry about Kaito-kun, over there…he _enjoys_ getting tied up with ropes, and that duct tape over his mouth too! Noooo, nononono—he's not struggling to break free from the rope, he's _dancing_ in it! Yeah! So, what we are going to learn today are the most vital parts of the human language—words to use when you're pissed at someone! Here are some pretty sentences you can tell Kaito-kun when he wakes up in the morning: $#%#*%#/!%*#? $(%$%1! #$&%&$#$- _HEY LEON YOU %#$%%#! LET G—"_

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><p><em><span>Teaching Time with Leon<span>_

"I apologize for Lola's misbehavior, princess. (mumble mumble) however, I am not untying Kaito… what? Oh! Yes, teaching. I believe it's much more affective to teach you how to be a proper, classy young maiden! Let's see, how should we get started? For starters, always accept the prince's hand when he asks you to dance—Aa, Meiko…oh dear. Why are you holding the whole sake bottle, and…WHY IS IT EMPTY? UWA-!"

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><p><em><span>Teaching Time with Meiko<span>_

"Lezzin wohn—Sake'z grat. Rilly grat. Yeah, ziz ztuhffrit hereh. Drihnk et _EEEVUHREE DEI…_wooh, oh mahn…DOO ET! Woah, gettin' dizzeh…" (thud) (her collapsing on the floor)

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><p><em><span>Teaching Time with Miriam<span>_

"Keep the sake bottles away from Meiko as often as possible. That is all."

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><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

"Ow, my head hurts~~" Meiko groaned, lying on the couch next to a snoring Lola.

"No kidding." Miriam sighed. "This is why I only got two bottles rather than your requested fifteen, when I went to the store."

"Meanie, fifteen isn't THAT bad!" Meiko whined.

In the end, Miriam simply brought out a science and geography magazine for Miku to "learn things from". The tealette lied on her stomach, her chin resting on her hand, propped-up by her elbows. She scanned the pages of the magazine, her legs swinging back and forth as though she was truly interested.

Kaito was finally untied, and sat, exhausted, next to Miku, simply observing her in fascination.

Leon was leaning against the wall near the front door, silently sulking over the fact he never got to teach Miku how to be a (his) "perfect princess". However, he quickly snapped out of his moping when the front door opened and someone hastily trudged inside the house.

All eyes were on a woman with lustrous blonde hair tumbling down her back like a waterfall, trussed up in a long ponytail. As she marched into the living room, with her piercing blue eyes, she scanned the room full of people who were gazing back at her. Except for Miku, too absorbed in her magazine to realize the woman had ever existed in this house.

"I'm home from work." The woman's voice had a sassy twang to it. Her eyes fell on the teal-haired girl. "Who's this?"

Miku's ears perked up when she heard a stranger's voice behind her, and she turned in the direction of the voice.

"This is—" Miriam attempted, but it was too late. Miku leaped off of the floor and landed in front of the blonde woman, taking her hand and shaking it fiercely.

"Pleased to meet you! My name is Hatsune Miku."

Nervous laughs drifted throughout the room.

"H-Hi, Hatsune-san…my name is Sweet Ann, ahaha…" slightly taken aback, Ann could only force out a tense smile.

Suddenly, however, Miriam's face grew grim.

"Ann. You were gone for the entirety of the day."

"I apologize," replied Ann, "Work was a bit hectic today, if you know what I—"

"Yes, you were working. But we know you were doing something else as well, correct?"

The blonde and slightly tanned woman caught her breath, wincing. Miriam continued in a concerned tone.

"Ann, I know you care about them, your siblings. But looking all around this small area of the city for them hasn't done you any good—"

"NO!" Ann shrieked, "STOP IT!"

Her wish was granted—Miriam was too stunned to speak.

"I MAY not be getting anywhere right now," the upset woman continued brashly, "but…but with these two jobs, I'll get some more money and I'll be able to search in more areas! I still have HOPE, Miriam! I can't give up on them!"

"I know you think that, but listen to me—"

"I CAN'T give up on them! I can't! They were my FAMILY—they were all I had! And they needed me! Andy…he needed me!" by now, her captivating crystal-blue eyes were rimmed with tears. "And they were taken away from me. I am GOING to get them back! And…you won't stop me!"

With that, she burst into tears and fled the house like a tornado, leaving behind dismayed and ever-so confused friends. A hollow silence drowned the room, suffocating those inside of it. At last, though, Miriam avowed:

"We need to go and find her."

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><p><strong>(AN) Heehee, what a silly chapter~ ('cept the end o3o) I personally think Sweet Ann's new Taiwanese boxart is supa kawaaaaii! Love her hair. But this plot is just unfolding more and more! Thanks for reading so far, reviews are appreciated! (But just for reading this I love you ewe)**

**Alright, Kaito. I've received some desperate cries from fans, and they don't want you to die. *Drops him on floor***

**Kaito: ;A; Phew! Thank you, dearest fangirls/guys! Maybe one day, we can eat ice cream together.**

**Oh you, Kai-kun~**


	4. Chapter 4: Thieves

**(A/N) RAWR. Chapta 4. I must say, this one for some reason felt a lot quicker than the last one. I was actually going to make this chapter longer, but I realized it'd be way too huge so I'm splitting it in two and the rest of what I had planned is in Chapter 5. OwO Enjoy!**

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><p>The six family members rushed out of their home, with Miku toddling behind. The rain had ceased quite a few hours ago, and the tattered clouds crawled through the sky, the warmth of the setting sun staining them a shy pink. The group knew where they were headed—there was one place Sweet Ann would always be at, if she wasn't at home or at work. As they dashed down the road leading out of their neighborhood, their shoes striking the asphalt with every step, they eventually found themselves scuttling through a cluster of narrow, coiling roads, with crumbling pavement tainted deep shades of grey by the earlier rain. Lining each road were endless rows of petite, square shops, all crammed against each other like the squares of a chocolate bar. Although the afternoon drizzling had died away, the constant breezes remained as sharp, winter chills, nipping the group's flushed cheeks, a shade of cherry. The marketplace would be nearing soon.<p>

Close to their destination, the team slowed from their sprinting and began searching for the run-away Ann. Their breaths floated out as white puffs of air. Miku accounted this strange phenomenon in her memory files.

After a bit of investigation, Kaito turned to Meiko, his face stern.

"I don't get it, Meiko," said he, "Why does Sweet Ann care about her lost siblings so much? It's not as though they were her real siblings. They were all just created by the same guy."

"Because, Kaito," Meiko explained, cheerlessly, "It's just like how we aren't real family. But we still care about each other. You would go looking for us, too, wouldn't you?"

Kaito soberly took his vision away from her, focusing his eyesight on the worn, winding street ahead of them. His breaths were muffled by his blue scarf. For a moment, he was silent, as if thinking.

"I don't know if I have the heart for that." He at last replied.

Meiko did nothing but stare at him with wide eyes. She tried to shove her shock aside and choke something out, but Miku interrupted her.

"Miku does not know why Sweet Ann ran out of the house."

Her teal eyes met Meiko's surprised ones.

"Does Meiko-san know why?"

After a pause, Meiko's stunned expression dissolved into a solemn one, and she gazed at the puzzled tealette. She breathed another small gust of white air.

"Sweet Ann was created by a person who had already created all of Ann's siblings. When she was given 'life', I guess she must have become very close with the other ones that her owner created. But…her owner wasn't allowed to create such things, and was taken away. Her siblings escaped as well, but were separated from her and she misses them terribly. So she ran away to look for them, like she does every day…"

Meiko was expecting Miku to bombard her with endless questions: "What do you mean, created her?" "And created her siblings too?" "How was she given life?"" Why wasn't her owner allowed to create her and her siblings?"" Where was the owner taken away to?" "Why did they separate, her and her siblings?"

But instead, Miku simply processed the information and looked ahead of herself blankly.

This relieved Meiko. She didn't wish to tell the young girl the entire story—she didn't even know the entire story herself. She simply could not bring herself to explain all she knew to Miku, at the time; she felt it would scare the girl to know everything about how she was created. For now, the truth was kept secret.

"We're here," Miriam mumbled as they approached their destination, although her voice was barely audible through the bursts of commotion in front of the group.

A lively marketplace thrived ahead of them. Countless tiny shops and stands peppered the wide-open range. The bazaar bustled with an incessant amount of busy, hasty people, all shuffling through the jammed alleys, chatting and browsing over the scattered stores. Standing by the booths were merchants, raising their products high in the sky and bellowing their cheap prices. Miku gaped at the outstanding scene in absolute awe.

Lola gazed at the ginormous market and sighed, drowning in her hopelessness.

"How are we ever going to find Ann in this huge place?" she whined. "She's probably lost in here herself!"

Meiko tried raising everyone's assurance.

"We have to try!"

Thus, they did. The team wedged through the clusters of moving people, calling out Ann's name. Miku got lost twice, Lola got groped three times and Kaito had to be dragged away from eight ice cream stands.

After an hour of searching, their hope was fading. Yet at last, as the sky began shifting into a deep blue shade, the numbers of bustling people slightly dwindled. And finally, the team noticed a cascade of tumbling blonde curls ahead of them.

Sweet Ann was lingering around a few shops side-by-side with each other; a miniature supplies shop promoting its sale on box cutters, a wood-making booth with handmade walking sticks mounted at the front for all to see, and a small shop selling guitars of all kinds.

"ANN!" the team (minus Miku) shrieked. Startled, she twirled around to look behind her. The second she recognized the rather exhausted faces staring back at her, her tanned skin went white.

Everyone dashed at her frantically, looking like buffoons through the strangers' eyes around them. Miku lazily waddled closer to Ann, who was frozen in shock and thinking of a way to escape. She decisively turned her back on the ridiculous group, leaped over the walking stick booth (despite the cries of the owners of said booth), and used the whole of her strength to shove the entire stand on top of everyone sprinting towards her.

As the stand of wooden trinkets slowly began tipping over, the running crew slowed to a halt and gasped in horror as it began picking up speed. Sweet Ann managed to throw a final victorious smirk at the pests before fleeing the scene of the crime. Then, a painful crash echoed throughout the market.

Leaving behind a pile of disoriented clowns, collapsed underneath a toppled booth and wrecked knick-knacks, the blonde woman hopped onto a nearby hotdog stand, in which was placed on wheels, and rode away through the astonished crowd, calling a last "'SCUSE ME!" to the flabbergasted hot dog seller.

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><p>It took the fallen troop nearly half an hour to pull itself back together and help rebuild the tumbled-down woodworks booth. After they accomplished that, it took Lola a full five seconds to stomp the ground, flail her arms and shriek, in near tears: "I QUIT! ANN CAN FIND HER WAY HOME BY HERSELF!"<p>

Meiko, still slightly dizzy, wobbled towards Lola and wearily assured her. "I'm sure there's some way we can catch her…"

Her unavailing guarantee was interrupted by a sudden shout far ahead of them.

"_YOU BLASTED BRATS!_ _COME BACK HERE!_"

Soon following the rage-filled holler was a pair of childish chortling.

The group noticed the crowd in front of them starting to divide. They quickly realized it was making way for two snickering children, racing through the throng of people and looking back behind them continuously. Hugged tightly to their chests and under their arms were some bags overflowing with bananas and tumbling oranges.

Meiko, Kaito, and Miriam quickly could tell there was something different about the two kids, for the fact their hair was an unnatural, artificial-looking golden, and their eyes were as blue as turquoises. They also caught on to what the "blasted brats" were doing. As the fleeing children attempted to dash past the crew, Kaito and Meiko each yanked one up by the back of their shirts and lifted them in the air, giving them a bothered look.

Feet in the air, the startled kids accidentally dropped their swollen bags and froze, their obnoxious snickers ceasing. Then, they slowly turned their heads to glower at the two that caught them, though a nervous smile still refused to leave their lips. At last, as a distressed and exhausted man dashed towards the group, the two squirts burst into a hysterical tantrum, flailing their thin limbs frantically and screeching for Meiko and Kaito to let them go.

"'Ya damn brats!" the man's voice was hoarse and unforgiving. "Next time ya demons try takin' off with my food, ya ain't gunna have any hands left to snatch 'em of with!"

Now standing, the two culprits looked to the floor in an embarrassed fashion.

They looked up, their eyes wide with surprise, however, when Leon stepped in front of them, glittering.

"I do very so apologize," he said, a hand placed over his heart dramatically, "I will make sure these two will not trouble you again. In fact, how about we pay for these bags of fruit they held? Would that make up for their misbehavior?"

The salesman swayed, eyes sparkling. "Sure would!" he exclaimed.

"Very well," replied the prince Leon, "I'll see to it you are paid for your products. Kaito~?"

"…HAH?"

And so, a rather reluctant Kaito pulled out his, must I say, anorexic wallet. The thieves stood behind him, still slightly ashamed, yet relieved that they were rescued by these strangers. By this time, the crimson glow of the sun was just barely seeping through the silhouettes of the mountains far in the distance. The sky had melted into a melancholy indigo color, the shadows of shredded clouds still lingering above the marketplace and the diminishing number of people inside it. Even after all this madness, however, Miriam still remembered in her mind the team's mission: Bringing Sweet Ann back home.

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><p><strong>(AN) Oh, my! Crooks! I wonder who the two thieves were. . . =w= NOBODY (everybody) KNOOOWS.**

**Chapter 5 is kind of like a part 2 to this, so continued in part 2/chapter 5!**


	5. Chapter 5: Memory Fragments

**(A/N) BLARGH. FINALLY, CHAPTER 5. Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the wait- I just finished the darn thing when my computer crashed and wouldn't start back up D: So I had to get it cleared and lost all of this...and then had to rewriiiite it and everything. A thousand apologies, I will go right back to my normal chapter-a-day soon! Also, I'd like to thank all my reviewers and subscribers! ;A; I love you so much. Thank you for reading this and being patient for silly Koe! I'm trying my hardest!**

**Secondly, I just noticed a few days ago my anonymous reviewer thing was disabled for some reason, so now it's enabled. Feel free to leave yourself anonymous nao :3 Enjoy!**

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><p>After the two bandits were forced by Meiko to apologize for their wrong-doings, as the group began to leave, Miku found the perfect chance to leap in front of the selling merchant, shake his hand promptly and announce:<p>

"Pleased to meet you! My na—"

However, she was never able to finish, for a set of five hands each clutched her shoulder and dragged the confused girl away.

"Okay," Kaito said, gripping the tealette's shoulders, "you don't shake someone's hand _every time _you meet them. Only when they shake your hand first. Understand?"

Miku nodded her head resolutely. But quickly after, Kaito halted, and slowly twisted his head around to glare at the two children attempting to creep away from the group unnoticed. Yet they stopped dead when they could feel the man's glower melting into their skulls, and turned to show a pair of nervous smiles back at him.

He caught each of them by the back of their collars before they could attempt to flee, keeping a firm grip to make sure they did not squirm away. He then placed them in the middle of the group on both feet.

"Names. Now," the blue-haired man demanded.

The ex-crooks could only stare at the ground uncomfortably, examining the dirt-caked gravel beneath them as though it truly fascinated them. At last, the boy of the pair, averting his bothered eyes from the rest of the surrounding group, muttered, "Kagamine Len."

As if his voice rekindled the girl of the twins, she snapped her attention up and glared back at a startled Kaito with aquamarine-blue eyes.

"Kagamine Rin!" retorted she, directing her bark to the annoyed man in front of her. She then stuck her tongue out and gave him the bird, pestering him further. Her brother merely snickered to himself.

"Hey, you two," nagged Meiko, placing a hand on her hips and waving her finger disapprovingly. "Be nice. We went through a lot of trouble to save you from that merchant guy, when we could've just left you there to get beaten!"

"Pfft, beaten? That old man can't even keep up with us," riposted Rin.

"If it wasn't for you, we could've actually gotten away with it," concluded Len.

"Old hag." The twins provoked in unison.

Miku could hear something inside Meiko snap, like a thread yanked too tightly. The woman fired a deathly glower equal to Kaito's cruelty at the two children, catching them off guard and frightening them awfully. They shrank even smaller than they were originally.

"I'd like to remind you this isn't the issue," Miriam brought up, perking everyone's attention, "The thing I am concerned about is the marking on Rin-san's shoulder."

As if on cue, Rin froze, stiffly placing a hand over the marking Miriam mentioned. It was something like a tattoo that read, in big red letters, the number "02". Next to her, Len's face darkened.

"Yeah? What about it?" he stammered.

"You are a Second Era, correct?" Miriam continued, "This is a mark some creators used to label their creations on what Era they were made in. Len-san must have a similar mark on his body as well, does he not?"

Len grimaced, throwing his glare to the floor and scowling.

"Don't you dare call us 'creations'!" he shouted furiously. "And don't even mention our damn creator!"

"Len!" Rin snapped at her brother, shocking him into silence. She then wearily turned to look at Miriam. "How do…how do you know this?" she mumbled, her voice quivering slightly.

"It's okay," reassured the silvery-blonde woman soothingly, "You are like us."

Rin hesitated for a long moment, then at last relaxed in relief. Her brother continued looking down, yet eased as well.

Lola marveled the two twins in awe. "Woah~!" she crowed, "You two are Second Era? That's amazing! Materials were so scarce at that time…"

"Supplies were depleting after the Great Disaster," concurred Kaito, "They couldn't make as realistic features as before, with so little to work with. I heard Second Era don't have blood, right?"

Rin's eyes fell to the floor as she nodded, blushing a slight pink.

"I noticed Hatsune-san has a '02' on her shoulder as well," Miriam noted, turning to the teal-haired girl, who was staring blankly at the crowd.

"Miku-ojou-sama is a Second Era?" inquired Leon, "Astounding!"

Lola squealed and twirled around, singing "I know three Second Eras! No way, no way, no way~!"

Miku, however, simply tilted her head in puzzlement.

"I don't understand," she articulated, "What is the Great Disaster, and what are Second Eras?"

Lola tripped over her own footing and abruptly quit twirling. The rest of the crowd fell into silence, unsure of what to reply with. Most were too frightened to explain to her the "truth", as it wasn't a happy story. So, they all simply stared, nervousness stressing over their faces.

Len, on the other hand, could care less whether or not Miku knew.

"You don't know? The Great Disaster was when—mfmfphnnhmph!"

His voice was muffled by Meiko, who leaped over to him and placed a hand over his babbling mouth.

"Oh, it's nothing important, really~!" she gabbled, following her garbled speech with an overly-enthusiastic laugh. Her prattling was a success—Miku blinked, processing the information, and nodded.

Len threw an annoyed look at the woman nearly choking him, but quickly looked away, trembling, when she shot her own glower at him.

"Well, guys," Miriam attempted changing the subject, "We mustn't forget—Sweet Ann is still on the loose."

"But how are we _ever_ going to catch her?" stomping her feet on the floor once again, Lola groaned.

Next to them, the twins furrowed their brows at the group in confusion. When they were explained to, however, their faces quickly twisted into sinister grins.

"We're the master at traps…" they sneered wickedly. The rest of the team could only stare, now slightly frightened. But perhaps…

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><p>Soon enough, day melted into night. The sky bled into a midnight blue, shredded clouds staining it, black silhouettes splattered throughout. The city fumes floated into the sky, shrouding the brilliance of millions of stars watching over the world restlessly. The number of people in the marketplace diminished even further, retreating to their cozy homes and awaiting beds. A few remained here and there, however, such as a girl with a waterfall of cascading blonde curls.<p>

Sweet Ann was secretly wishing to return to her friends and sit against the flames of a snug fireplace at home. Yet her stubbornness got the best of her, and she ended up wandering the bazaar aimlessly, gazing at the scattered booths. She found herself once again in front of three shops selling walking sticks, box cutters, and guitars. These all reflected on the things her siblings enjoyed—things that made up their person, so they were more than just "creations", more than just androids. More than just failed attempts of creating her.

She just thought, just perhaps, they would be wandering aimlessly as well, searching and searching for their sister, as she searched for her, and would find themselves browsing over these small things that intrigued them and completed them…

But alas, she was alone, staring at three empty shops preparing to close down for the day.

Until she heard footsteps.

Multiple footsteps. Quick, hasty footsteps coming near her. A rush of anticipation engulfed her as she spun around to view who it was that was running—no, dashing—towards her.

Her hope crashed and burned when she recognized the faces as the buffoons who were chasing her down.

"ANN!" they shouted desperately, sprinting as fast as they could.

She froze, blinking at the crew blankly, but at last decided the best course of action was to outrun them. She darted in the opposite direction, already hearing the footsteps behind her grow farther away. Yet for some reason, they did not cease—Ann felt as though she was running on end, anxiously waiting for the team behind her to run out of breath or slow down, as her own mechanical lungs were ready to burst. And yet, it felt like an eternity when they finally—and abruptly—halted, causing her to immediately slow down and catch her wheezing breath.

She stopped right at one end of the marketplace, and the beginning of a crumbling road that led to her home. The street was consumed in a shadowy darkness, only barely dimmed by the glow of the lines of streetlights on each side. She paused for a long moment staring up that tattered road. Taking a step, she contemplated whether or not she should return home.

A dreadful mistake.

Her step seemed to have triggered a sudden rustle of noise. And then she found herself twisting upside-down. Ann could feel herself being violently lifted into the air, and terrified out of her wits, she shrieked bloody murder. Gravity took place, however, and she began falling from mid-air, ceasing her breath and choking her screams deep in her throat. She surely thought she was going to die.

She never hit the ground, however; she dangled from a rope tied to her ankle and around a nearby streetlamp, completely and utterly disoriented. A group of familiar faces appeared sneering, and, growing crimson, she at last realized the prank that was pulled on her.

Leon, Lola, Meiko, Kaito, and Miriam all beamed at her sickly, though some were bursting into hysterical laughter. Beside her was a puzzled Miku and two golden-haired children, also dying of laughter. She fumed, enraged.

"Y'BRATS!" Ann screeched, "'GIT ME DOWN FROM HERE THIS INSTANT! I SWEAR, I'MMA KILL ALL Y'ALL ONE DAY! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

The infuriated woman was at last let down from the trap, and met the two troublemakers who set it up. She held an eternal grudge on the two for doing such a horrid thing to her.

Though, at last, Sweet Ann reluctantly agreed to trudge back home. The group, now accomplished in their mission, passed through the many worn, twisting roads leading to their neighborhood. Until Rin and Len suggested the shortcut they discovered a while ago to get to their destination—a park.

Immersed in darkness and silence, the park gave off a lonely aura as they walked through it. The place was empty, and where there should have been laughter and energy, only a sad memory of what once was earlier in the day remained. Ann found it strange how such lively places were reduced to this when day turned into night.

As Miku passed by a lonesome swing set, however, she stopped dead in her tracks, leaving behind confused friends. The swing set was a royal blue color, still and lifeless, now doing nothing but waiting for a child to trot over and play on it the time the sun rises. When Miku's fascinated eyes fell on the gloomy swings, she was startled, as for some reason, these swings triggered something inside of her. It was a memory, and yet it was something far beyond her memory files—it was a different kind of memory, something buried deep inside of her, nestled away beneath the mountains of collected data that blocked her from ever remembering these fragments inside her. Yet that single swing set seemed to awaken a single fragment of memory.

It was like a vision that showed through her eyes—she imagined a girl on that swing set, giggling carelessly, swinging joyously. The ground around her was blanketed by heavy snowfall, the white pearls floating down from the cool grey sky. The day was a brighter one, a nostalgic one; and beside the girl stood a man, older than her, pushing her on the swing, driving her to the sky.

The man's face consumed Miku in such a strange, overwhelming feeling, it frightened her. Snapping out of the vision, she stepped back, and finally collapsed to the floor, her group of friends rushing to her aid.

"Miku, what's wrong?" Kaito ushered beside her. She blinked, shaking away the trembling feeling inside her.

Her system did not react to the vision. It was from another part inside of her, at her core. So quickly after the startling feeling, her thought process returned to its normal data-collecting ways.

"It was nothing important," she answered frankly, and grinned reassuringly at the blue-haired man at her side. "Let's go home now, I'm sleepy."

Her smile did relieve him, and he relaxed. "Okay," replied he, "I guess we should go now."

But even if she attempted to forget the melancholy vision of that blue swing set, those memory fragments, concealed beneath the surface of her mind, would not disappear.

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><p><strong>And the plot thickens o3o I'll be updating faster now I promise~! =3= Stewpid laptop. Subscribers, I won't let you down ;A;<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: First Day of School

**(A/N) Ohay! Chapter 6. And I'm tired ;A; I thought to make up for the days I've been gone I should upload two chapters in 1 day. And that is an absolutely exhausting thing to do...enjoy please ;A; I love you OwO**

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><p>Miku could feel herself slowly fading into sleep as she shambled with her friends to the warmth and comfort of home. Sleep, to an android like her, was more of recharging; a dreamless, blank state of mind. Rin and Len tagged along with the crew, for they could not trick Miriam into believing they had a home to return to; she knew what they were, and figured out fairly quickly what they considered "home" was what she would consider a run-down empty toolshed.<p>

Miku could feel her energy running low, and at last, she caved in to the exhaustion. She shut her eyes, and gently rested her head on the arm of the one beside her—Kaito.

He froze, startled for a moment, but when he realized who was snoozing on him, he sighed in an annoyed manner and held the girl's back, sliding his other arm under her legs to lift her up and carry her the rest of the way. He was thankful that the darkness of the night was thick and stole the rest of the group's vision, so they could not see the blush growing on his cheeks.

When they arrived at last to their awaiting house, everyone scurried to the living room and collapsed on their couches, positively drained of any and all energy. Kaito lightly placed the teal-haired girl on a couch and flopped beside her, absolutely dead-beat. He sighed a puff of air and closed his eyes, ready for sleep at last. But Meiko wouldn't let him go just yet.

"Hey," she whispered, crawling beside the exhausted man. "Why did you say you don't have the heart for caring about family? Of course you do, we all do…right?" the last word came out almost quaveringly.

The azure-haired man sat still for a moment, staring into nothingness, Miku curled up in a ball beside him. At last, he tossed his head lazily towards Meiko and griped, "Aa, jeez, Meiko, I'm beat here, can't you see I'm tryin' to sleep?"

The woman grew impatient and snapped, while still in a whispering voice, "KAITO—"

"Krydia."

The man she was grouching at made her catch her breath with this word.

"Some of us have it," Kaito continued, "such an amazing thing some creators found, put inside some of us, that supposedly connects us with the spirit world. Right? It gives us feelings like love, hate, anger, and sorrow that are less mechanical and more true to how we really feel. With it, we can become truly human."

He lowered his head, smirking to himself. "…That was what the scientists dreamed up, anyway. I probably don't have one of those. They hid a lot of things from my creator."

Meiko stammered. "A-are you saying that you _need _a Krydia to love a family? But you don't, you know all of us are created with—"

"Sweet Ann has a Krydia in her throat, doesn't she?" Kaito persisted. "That's what gives her those emotions to love her siblings, and makes her voice all sing-songy and pretty, too. But it's all worthless." He said this with a low, chuckling tone of voice. "All of her siblings were just mistakes when the scientist was trying to create her—the perfect country singer. What made her so perfect was the Krydia. Her siblings probably don't have that. Without that, they can't love her back. That's why I asked why she cared about her siblings so much."

Meiko gawked at the man. How could he be so frank and cold? Has he really given up so much hope? She urged herself to press on.

"Not _everyone _has a Krydia, Kaito, I know, but we all have souls. Isn't that good enough?"

"A soul and a heart are different things," Kaito murmured into the darkness of the room, "A soul is where your feelings are stored. A heart is where you are touched and receive feelings, then decide what feelings you'd like to act with. A soul would be cold and emotionless without a heart. I guess I might just be nothing but mechanical."

He was interrupted by a stir to the side of him.

Miku had nestled up beside him, her dreary eyes half opened. Kaito blinked at her, barely turning pink.

"Aa, Miku…" he stuttered, "Did I wake you up?"

The girl slowly shook her head. "I would like a glass of water," she replied, standing and wobbling across the room.

She wasn't able to complete her voyage, however, when her foot caught on to something lying on the floor, and she crashed to the ground with a yelp, Kaito and Meiko gazing at her stupidity helplessly.

That "something" turned out to be a now-awake Len, whom glared at Miku as Kaito assisted her—and dragged her—to the kitchen to get her requested glass of water.

When she and Kaito were gone, however, Len shot his glance at Meiko, looking at her with boyish concern.

"Why didn't you want Miku knowing about the Great Disaster?" he asked sternly.

Meiko hesitated for a moment, yet her eyes eventually fell to her twiddling fingers in her lap, as if she was remembering something.

"The Great Disaster was an awful time…" her voice sounded wistful and melancholy. "You were created afterwards, so you're lucky." Len winced at the word "created", but Meiko continued. "There were bombs dropped everywhere…and so much crying…and smoke filled the air more than air itself. It was awful…" her voice trailed off, but she caught herself and chuckled. "I'm sorry, I'm running off task, aren't I? You see…I think that letting Hatsune-chan know these types of things…will only hurt her more. I hope you understand."

Len's expression melted into a recognizing sorrow. A knowledgeable sadness, a sign that had let Meiko know he understood.

At last, Miku and Kaito returned to the room, and they all ended the day with a long-awaited sleep.

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><p>The remainder of the week flew by swiftly; Lola dashing through mall after mall, picking out clothing for Miku and Rin (Len positively refused to let a girl pick his clothing and insisted he did it himself); Meiko attempting to restrict her sake-drinking ways, but to no avail; and Kaito attempting to continue his "Teaching Time" for Miku. But at last Leon decided the best way to educate Miku would be to enroll her in an actual school, along with Rin and Len.<p>

So on Monday, three new students appeared in the school Kaito already attended. The Kagamines, being fourteen years old, were in different classes than Miku and Kaito; and had no idea what to do when they introduced themselves to the class.

The teacher smiled at them, though in her head she was criticizing their oddly-colored hair. "Students, today we have new members of the class. Please say hello to Kagamine Rin and Len. Now, now, you two, introduce yourselves."

Rin timidly looked to the floor and forced herself to grin. "Aha…my name is Kagamine Rin…and this is my brother, Len…" she mumbled, gesturing a hand towards her brother.

He, on the other hand, threw his head to the side and grumbled, "I can introduce myself."

Much to his surprise, his answer was followed by a number of girlish squeals, and suddenly the class was crowding around the two twins and blabbing gibberish. Something along the lines of:

"Omgomgomg! You're so cool! Kya~ Wanna sit by me at lunch?"

"No, no, me, me!"

"Call me!"

"Your guys' hair is so golden! It looks so natural!"

"Rin-chan~! You're so cute~! Wanna hang out after school~?"

This system continued for the rest of the day, Rin blushing scarlet and Len about ready to burst from so much annoyance.

Miku, on the other hand, was in a majority of Kaito's classes. She was crowded around, as well, but her situation turned out differently.

After the explosion of squawking questions, one more was thrown at her: "Your eyes are so pretty! Where are you from?"

The tealette hesitated for a moment, but then tried a new way to figure the question out.

"Um…where are YOU from?"

"Me?" the student answered back, slightly surprised. "Well, my family moved from Osaka to Tokyo when I was two. And I moved to this prefecture when I was eleven, I guess…"

"I lived in Osaka till I was five!"

"Really? I've been here all my life!"

Suddenly a wave of commotion thrived about this particular topic. Miku blinked.

"You all know where you're from," she concluded.

The class blinked back. "Well, yeah…do you not know where you're from?"

The girl shook her head, and said wistfully, with distant eyes, "But I'd like to know…"

One of the girl classmates replied, "Um…well, maybe you just gotta go find out where you're from." She was referring to a birth certificate, or a grandma who could tell the tealette where she was born.

Miku, however, perceived it from a different angle, her eyes wide with understanding.

"Find out?"

The student nodded, and the dismissal bell rang.

After performing her dismissing bows, Miku nodded to the student, singing, "I see! I see! I'll go find out right away!" and skipped out of the classroom to see a waiting Kaito.

The class sighed a sigh of despair. "Poor girl," they crowed, "Perhaps she immigrated here when she was little…"

Meanwhile, Kaito beamed at the girl racing towards him.

"So! How was your first day of school~?" the man cooed.

Miku grinned a brilliant grin, catching Kaito off guard again. "I know how to find where I'm from now, Kaito!" she gushed.

He slowed. "Eh? How?"

"I'm going to look for it—where I'm from! Then I'll find the answer!"

The azure-haired man halted and caught his breath.

_Meiko is not going to like this…_ he thought to himself.

But to the ecstatic tealette he replied, "Oh, really? That's a good method. Looking for the answer to find it." He chuckled to himself.

A loud shout behind the two interrupted his thoughts, however.

"Wait for us, guys!"

Behind him, Rin was jumping and waving frantically, drowning in a sea of students who appeared to be bombarding her with questions and suffocating her mercilessly. Len seemed to have already gone under, his arm held up in a dying-and-trying-to-survive pose, his golden hair barely visible through the cluster of black and brown uniforms.

Kaito merely sighed in a pestered manner, and turned around, saying to a perplexed Miku, "C'mon, they can get home by themselves."

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><p><strong>Rawr x3 Reviews are appreciated! Cya tomorrow ;w;! And oh boy, will you LOVE Miku's upcoming adventures at school =w=..now if you excuse me... *ZZZ*<strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Welcoming

**(A/N) This chapter just feels so long to me =3= Took me foreva. I hope you enjoy~~ And and and I'd like to thank ALL my reviewers, they have absolutely amazing stories that I've already subscribed to all of them if you'd like to check em out. You guys and your reviews make me so happy x3 Arigatou~!**

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><p>Schooldays for Miku were a breeze. She easily filed all the teacher taught her in her data collections and aced every single one of her tests. Her classmates could merely ogle at her perfect test scores again and again in awe and admiration. Throughout the school, news spread about this new teal-haired, twin tailed girl with brilliant mint-blue eyes who had perfect grades in all of her classes and (as rumors state) was an immigrant coming to Japan to live with her already-popular cousin, Shion Kaito. Rin and Len were also talked about and adulated, but for different reasons—they quickly became the strange pair of siblings coming from the streets of Tokyo that had perfect grades, yet were the uttermost trouble-making problem children in the entire school. The day they arrived at that otherwise peaceful building, pranks were pulled, fights ensued, teachers were humiliated and students crowded around them, roaring with reverence.<p>

Kaito was quick to realize he needed to accompany Miku throughout schooldays a lot more often than he originally thought. Day after day, rotten hounds confronted her, drooling with filthy craving, "wondering" if she'd like to "hang out" afterschool, at lunch, ditching class, or whatever time their shriveled minds imagined. Their utter existence irritated Kaito completely, and every time they approached, he'd send them withering away with a shot of his death glare burning into their skulls. Through his Teaching Times, he quickly taught Miku that those certain people should be avoided and flipped the bird at all costs.

There was one man, however, that did not give off the aura of a worthless mutt. He was actually quite popular in the school, and strode down the halls with charm and suave, surrounded by a cluster of fanatic girls. Kaito had noticed him countless times before, so blatantly outgoing with his violet hair tied in a long ponytail. He was a year older than Kaito, thus was not in any of his classes; however, it was as if a spotlight illuminated his presence every time he strolled through the crowded halls. He had heard the violet-haired man's named whispered among an innumerous amount of squealing girls before: Kamui Gakupo.

And now, that outgoing man was wishing to converse with a puzzled Miku.

"I see! So you're the new student!" the man's loud, enthusiastic voice snapped Kaito out of his daydreaming. He shot a glance at the two—Miku blinked, processing the information, and nodded frankly.

"Very pleased to meet you," the man, Gakupo, was grinning cheerfully. His greeting was followed by a mass of "Hi, Hatsune-san!"s and "Nice to meet you!"s from his following posse of also-ecstatic girls.

"Pleased to meet you!" the tealette sang merrily, happy to finally be able to use that phrase again, yet remembered Kaito's lesson on not shaking someone's hand until they shook hers first. Gakupo graciously knelt down on one knee and bowed in front of the girl, and said in an enthralling voice, "I hope you enjoy your time at this beautiful school."

Kaito grumbled and shoved his hands in his uniform pockets, bothered. _This isn't a hotel, you priss…_ he thought to himself, until Gakupo stood up and whispered something in his and Miku's ear that made him freeze, still as a statue.

"I know what you guys are. Farewell."

Kaito winced and spun around to say something, but the violet-haired man was already swept away by an ocean of rapturous girls.

When Kaito and Miku arrived home from school, the man was hoping to tell Meiko what had happened earlier that day, yet she left a note stating she was out shopping. She was busy scurrying through the hasty city streets, flowing with the fixed movement of the seas of people, browsing over the crammed-together shops and searching for her favorite clothing seller. In front of her, a dash of magenta-colored hair caught her eye, however.

A woman was standing in front of her, long and luxurious rosy locks cascading down her back. She was still, craned over a cell phone in her hands, texting. As teens with vibrant shades of hair and outfits flock the streets of Tokyo constantly, Meiko wouldn't have given her a second glance, if it hadn't been the strange marking on her shoulder that threw the brown-haired woman into utter disbelief.

_She has a red tattoo on her arm!_ A voice in Meiko's head stammered. _She's like us! But…it says…"03"? A Third Era? Impossible! Does such a thing even exist? I have to catch her!_

"Excuse me—" Meiko began, but as soon as the pink-haired woman lifted her head and met her confronter's eyes, her eyes bulged with an equally as devastating shock as Meiko just had. Her eyebrows furrowed in a slight fury, and she jolted away from the staggered woman who barely even spoke two words to her, leaving her stunned and confused.

Meiko had rushed home, forgetting her mission to track down a favorite shop of hers, in order to dump the news on Kaito. He was waiting for her on the living room couch, and when she threw open the front door and dashed inside, they both stood and exclaimed their own forewarnings to each other.

Meiko shouted "Watch out for a pink-haired woman!" just as Kaito announced "Watch out for a violet-haired man!".

Staring at each other in puzzlement, they at last shared their previous experiences with the strange people they encountered.

With this new information, they both agreed to keep a look out on the people they gave descriptions of, like police hunting down criminals. Yet that night, they were sleepless, still processing the confusing things that happened to them that day in their minds.

The next day during school, the talk of Miku and Kaito's homeroom was a new club being opened that day—"The Music Group", in which would be similar to a choir and centered on singing and music. A collection of despairing voices trailed around the room hopelessly: "I wish I could join, but I suck at singing…" "That sounds so cool, but I'd just be deadweight!" "I don't have time for that afterschool anyway, oh darn…"

Then a curious student asked, "What about you, Hatsune-san?"

Miku blinked, and tilted her head.

The circle of students paused, and mumbled to each other, "Did she not understand the question…?"

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by an explosion of sound that blasted from outside the opened window next to the startled group.

Someone had left a deafeningly loud boom-box right outside of the school to be left for a teacher to frantically scurry out and shut off. The song playing was a popular one at the time, and Miku recognized it from the radio of Lola's car when she was driving her around Tokyo for shopping—"Glorious World".

Gazing out the window to find out what all the disturbance was about, Kaito noticed two golden-haired midgets dash out of view. He grumbled to himself and sighed, yearning for a tub of ice cream.

Miku, however, did something quite different.

She sang to the song.

Everyone around her gawked as she stared distantly through the glass separating their classroom with the rest of the world, and chanted with the words of the song, as if singing to the entire world all by herself. Even Kaito couldn't help but stare; he knew what she was, and yet her voice still had taken him aback.

After the teacher rushed out and cut the music off, Miku halted. The classmates around her were silent.

She turned to them. "Why did it stop?" she wondered.

She received only stares, until the class burst with ecstatic squeals.

"HATSUNE-SAN! You know how to SING!"

"Woah! That was so good!"

"KYA~~~! YOU'RE MY IDOL, HATSUNE-SAN~!"

Kaito gave Miku a knowledgeable smile, yet she merely gazed blankly at the roaring class.

Until she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

The puzzled tealette turned to see a girl—a fellow classmate—smiling kindly at her. The girl appeared very intelligent and pleasant, with short, apple-green hair and friendly eyes of the same color. Deep orange goggles adorned her head.

"Hey," she began, her voice straight-forward yet soft, "You sing good." She grinned wider, and held up a paper. "You should really join. Here's a flier."

On the paper read the title "The Music Group."

After passing Miku a paper, she turned and handed Kaito one as well, stating "You too. You and she are the same, right?" and she turned to leave. Kaito froze and choked on his breath. With this, he was certain—there was something going on.

As the school day ended, Kaito felt it was more than necessary to find the Music Group's room number and drag a confused Miku along with him. He did not expect, however, to see Rin and Len doing the same task.

They had ran into each other in a hallway right outside the clubroom's door. Rin sputtered.

"E-Eh? What are you guys doing here, Miku, Kaito?"

"We're looking for the Music Group," explained Kaito, "There's something up. A girl handed us the flier for it and she seemed as though she knew what we are."

Len stared with surprise. "Same for us…" he answered.

"Well!" Rin's voice slightly trembled with nervousness. "This is the Music Group right here, so…"

Her sentence trailed off as she waited for her brother to anxiously open the door to whatever mystery they thought was awaiting them.

Within five seconds of entering the room, a ruckus ensued.

Inside the room were four people—a man with a violet ponytail, a woman with rosy pink hair and arms crossed unwelcomingly, a girl with knowing green eyes and deep orange goggles mounted on top of her head, and a wise, beautiful woman standing at the end of the room, her short, black hair framing her strong and striking face.

"Welcome!" the gorgeous woman bellowed, though she was not able to utter a word more when Kaito cried while pointing to another girl in the room, "THE PINK-HAIRED WOMAN!" and soon after turning his direction towards the man next to her, shouting, "AND THE PURPLE GUY!"

"The purple guy"—Gakupo would be the more correct title for this man—gasped at such a label and fell to his knees in despair, throwing a dramatic hand over his forehead in dismay.

"Have I become nothing more than a GUY with PURPLE hair to thy passer-byers?" He wept.

"The pink-haired woman" glowered, twitching slightly. "Who gave me such a name…" she muttered.

Len and Rin quickly decided to stir up trouble and started tugging on Gakupo's ponytail, only causing him to screech and race around the room helplessly. The girl with apple-green hair chuckled to herself secretly, while Miku gazed around the room blankly.

The second the woman with pink hair lifted her head to protest such a ridiculous epithet to Kaito, however, her eyes immediately fell on Miku, and her breath cut off. She gasped, flinched, and for the slightest moment, Kaito could see a wave of sorrow consume the woman's face. But it quickly melted to anger.

"I'm leaving." Her voice was mature and tinted with rage. She stomped to the entrance and tried passing by the two standing in front of it, Kaito and Miku, but a strong arm gripped her own and kept her from fleeing.

It was Kaito. "What's your deal?" he asked sternly.

And yet, all he received was a furious glare and a mighty smack to the face, which caused him to fall to the floor.

As the pink-haired woman left the scene of the crime, the room fell silent, staring at a collapsed Kaito slowly picking himself up.

Miku had remembered the day Kaito knelt beside her when she fell to the floor, and so she did the same, surprising him with the worry in her eyes.

"Why did that woman do that?" she asked, her voice filled with fear.

Kaito's eyes fell to the floor as he asked himself the same question.

"I don't really know." He at last answered, and scorned. "That was a pretty rude thing to do."

Miku stood and held a hand out to the fallen man, and, not bearing to see her so worried, he gave her a reassuring smile. The blue-haired man then turned to the rest of the silent room and scoffed.

"I sure feel welcomed here." He muttered to himself, and began to leave the room.

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><p><strong>(AN) Woahz guyz. I introduced FOUR vocaloids in ONE chapter o3o I didn't think I could accomplish that. NEW RECORD! Though some of them came off a bit bitter eheheehehe...it won't stay like that FOREVA I pwomise, it's just part of the storyy. Btw I love the song Glorious World feat. Miku www so I jus felt that shoulda been put in there. Thank you for your attention! See you next tune we drop down! (Overwrite is a great song too :D) ~Koe =v=~**


	8. Chapter 8: Remembrance

**(A/N) And yet another chapter! This one took a long while to make too...blagh. I had nothing else to do today anyways. I'm happy my reviewers are guessing and predicting what'll happen in the story! ^w^ It makes me so happeh people actually care =w= I try hard! Now, enjoy~!**

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><p>"I sure feel welcome here," scoffed Kaito as he began to leave the room where a club called "The Music Group" was supposedly meeting up. Rather than discussing music and singing in this room, however, people were frozen still, gawking at the aftermath of the previous scene—Kaito collecting himself after getting slapped in the face by a seemingly arbitrarily enraged pink-haired woman.<p>

Perplexed, Miku reached for the man's uniform and lightly tugged at his sleeve, catching his attention.

"Why are you leaving?" she pondered.

Kaito gazed at her troubled face. His eyes grew distant, but his lips tilted into a subtle smile towards the girl, as though they were the only two people in that room.

"I have to go catch her," murmured he, "but I'll come back. This is for your own good, Miku." He closed his eyes, pausing, then turned to face the outside hallway. "Just stay here with these… 'colorful' people." He grinned reassuringly once again. "'Kay?"

The teal-haired girl loosened her grip and nodded.

As Kaito spun around and started dashing down the hall, Rin and Len snapped out of their statue-phases.

"W-Wait!" they choked, and raced after him.

With that, Miku twirled around and blinked at the three remaining in the room. A long silence drifted through the air, until Miku at last broke into a beam and exclaimed, "Pleased to meet you! My name is Hatsune Miku."

The woman at the end of the room laughed heartily and sang, "Very nice to meet you, Hatsune Miku-san. My name is Prima. I am the instructor of this group."

Gakupo leapt in front of Miku and crowed, "I believe you are already familiar with my majesty, Hatsune-chan~~"

The girl with apple-green hair curtseyed, saying gracefully, "I go by the name of 'Gumi'. I am pleased to be in your presence."

Gumi beckoned Miku with her hand into the room. "Come," said she, softly, "Your friend has business to take care of, and would like you to remain here while he does so."

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><p>Rin and Len attempted to chase after Kaito, as they sped down the empty hall.<p>

"What was that about?" Rin turned her attention over to her brother next to her. "She just randomly slapped him, and now he's after her for some reason."

"I'm not sure," replied Len, "But I want to know. Let's find out!"

Rin nodded, but they abruptly halted when they reached the end of the hallway, in which it split into two corridors going in opposite directions.

"Aa, jeez, we lost sight of him," Len peered down either hall.

"Which one did he run through…?" Rin wondered out loud, her face fretted.

"Let's split up!" Len at last concluded, and with parting nods, they did so.

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><p>The woman with pink hair had fled to the school's courtyard, her emotions getting the better of her. She couldn't stand it—the second she saw Miku's face, that child-like innocence it always had, all of the memories she had thought burned away long ago came flooding back to her. Everything she was dying to forget, all of those sinful mishaps that made up the final days winding down to her and Miku's end…<p>

It took the whole of her willpower not to burst into a hysterical breakdown, yet she desired so to shriek bloody murder and sob helplessly, as though that would take the memories away. She collapsed to the floor and clutched her head, trapped in the prison of her mind and the dreadful memories clawing their way into it.

She was released, however, when she felt a set of gentle hands fall on her trembling shoulders.

Her eyes snapped open, and she threw her head over her shoulder to see who it was.

A man with hair as blue as the ocean and eyes as deep gazed down at her.

"Calm down." His voice was stern, yet sensitive.

The woman did nothing but stare, shocked down to the bone. Kaito proceeded.

"It's nice to see you again, Luka."

She choked on her breath, and Kaito threw his hands up in the air and said pleadingly, "Aa, jeez, don't slap me again!"

However, quickly after he said this, she briskly stood and replied in a stark tone,

"It's been a while, Kaito."

The man paused, but at last smiled and let his arms fall to his sides.

"You ran pretty fast," remarked he.

The woman, Luka, glanced sharply away, her face displaying a flustered feeling. She kept silent, so Kaito continued.

"You didn't really have to—"

"I cannot STAND to see her face!" Luka suddenly exclaimed and threw her head in the air superciliously.

A pair of ravens fluttered out of rustling trees in the distance, flapping away in the cool grey sky. Kaito stood his ground.

"Luka. We all make mistakes."—the woman flinched when he said this—"It's okay. You have a heart, I know it."

With this, the rosy-haired woman spun around and scoffed at the man. "A heart?" she cried, facing him almost accusingly, "What heart? The only 'heart' creatures like us can have is that wretched Krydia, isn't it? Look! Look at how cruel I am! I have no such thing, you idiot."

"Luka, I forgive you." With these words, Kaito stopped Luka dead. He reached a hand out to her. "Now, you just need to forgive yourself."

Luka hesitated for a long time, gaping at that hand. But at last she relaxed, her face darkening with sorrow.

"But…" she murmured, "I don't think…she could ever forgive me. That's why I can't stay by her, anymore."

The blue-haired man drew his hand back, his lips slightly smirking.

"She's not the same person."

Luka's eyes drifted up to his as he continued—

"She probably has little to no memories of that time, and most likely doesn't have a Krydia either. She's not her. You can consider them two different people in all."

Luka's eyes remained dim, and her lips remained frowning.

"You sound so certain. Where's your hope? You cared about her so much." The woman's voice was low and emotionless.

Still smiling, Kaito closed his eyes.

"I cared about the girl back then. This girl is nothing more than a robot."

Luka winced slightly.

"So don't worry about it." The man at last concluded, and turned around, heading towards the school. "Come back if you wish, she's not going to remember you anyway. Seeya," he added over his shoulder, leaving behind a distant, somber Luka and a chilling breeze that rustled both of their hair. And thus, the world became silent.

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><p>"Aa, jeez…" Len whined to himself as he turned yet another corner down yet another vacant hallway. "Where the hell did this idiot run off to…"<p>

Secretly, Len wished he hadn't split up with Rin at those two halls. The two rarely were apart, and when they were, he always felt a strange emptiness in him and around him. But of course he couldn't tell anyone that—it sounds so cowardly in his mind.

His thoughts of Rin were interrupted by a sudden voice ahead of him.

"Oh, shit...I'm lost again!"

He looked up to see a girl around his age shuffling down the hall, in his direction. She did not see him; her eyes were focused on the cell phone held in her manicured hands. Deep green hair, stylishly trussed in a messy ponytail, just barely brushed the nape of her neck. Her tan boots tapped against the tiled floors.

Even though he halted, she continued marching towards Len, until at last she abruptly stopped beside him, stomped a foot on the floor and whined to the ceiling, "Oh~! Gumi, I hate you so much right now~! –Eh?"

That is when she noticed the tensed boy next to her.

The two were silent until the girl suddenly exclaimed (making Len jump in the process), "HEY! Hey you! You don't happen to know where the Music Group is meeting up, do you?"

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><p>Rin paced down the seemingly endless corridor, peering through door after door. Even though they had only been apart for a short while, the girl dreadfully missed being her brother's presence. They were always together, and it felt so empty when they weren't, like a loveless heart.<p>

The golden-haired girl stopped dead in the middle of the hallway and blushed crimson. A loveless heart? Had she really just thought that…? Staring to the floor, she patted her cheeks, attempting to calm herself. Yet she gave up and let her arms fall to her sides, and sighed.

_He doesn't even care about me anyway…_

Her thoughts were disrupted, however, by footsteps ahead of her.

She looked up to see a blue-haired man strolling towards her.

"Kaito!" she exclaimed, but, blushing again, quieted herself down. "What happened?"

He gave her a glittering smile and announced, "Nothing important. Come on now, it's no good for girls like you to wander empty hallways by yourself." And with that, he dragged a confused Rin to the Music Group, skipping along as he did so.

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><p>In the club room, Miku, Gakupo, Gumi and Prima were all waiting patiently for the rest of the group. The instructor had passed out tea for everyone, who now all were sipping it quietly, until Miku spoke up, pondering out loud.<p>

"Why did that woman slap Kaito and run away?"

She only received nervous smiles until Prima sighed.

"Some people have darker pasts than others," the instructor explained wistfully.

"I don't know if any of you noticed," Gumi brought up, "but that woman with pink hair—Megurine Luka, I believe her name is—she has the number '03' printed on her shoulder."

"Eh? '03'? A Third Era exists?" Gakupo gasped.

"Possibly, but most likely not so," explained Gumi, "Her creator might have just assumed it was the Third Era by now, since it's been a while after the Great Disaster."

With this, Miku tilted her head. "I don't understand. What is the Great Disaster?"

Gumi blinked at her for a moment, but then broke into a grin. "Ah, I see, you're a Second Era. You came after the Disaster." Her face grew darker. "It was a time when the government got mad at all the people creating us, and started lashing out at all the communities our creators formed, bombing them, barging into them and annihilating them."

Gakupo glanced at Gumi in a concerned manner. "You sound so knowledgeable of this, as though you lived through it."

Gumi threw her smile at the man and giggled. "I promise you I am a Second Era."

Miku blinked, processing the new information. "What about our creators made the government mad?"

Gumi diverted her gaze back to the tealette. "They thought the scientists were making underground labs for bad reasons, I suppose," she answered, "And so, the creators were wrongly attacked, killed, arrested…"

"Arrested?" Miku murmured. Soon after, though, her eyes widened with understanding. "Like with Sweet Ann's creator?"

The green-haired girl blinked. "Aa, your friend's creator must have been caught and arrested, yes, and she escaped."

Miku continued. "Who is my creator?"

Gumi hesitated for a moment.

"Most likely, someone special to you." Her eyes grew distant.

The discussion was interrupted by a door opening behind them.

"GUMI~! You gave me the wrong directions~! HI, EVERYONE!" a girl burst into the room, followed by a golden-haired boy, who appeared exhausted, trailing behind.

The girl twirled around to face the boy. "Thank you so so SOOOO much! I would've NEVER found this place without you!"

Hearing this, the drained kid snapped into a heroic pose. "Of course," he said valiantly, "I know my entire way around this school, after being chased by so many teache—UWA!"

His bragging was quickly ceased by the squealing girl's sudden glomp. The boy could feel his soul being squeezed out of him, fading into the air hopelessly.

Until a deep voice came from behind them.

"Oh~? Len, who is this? You never introduced me~!"

Len turned his head (or rather, his head flopped) to the voice. Kaito and Rin stood in front of him in the hallway. The girl suffocating him waved gleefully, then let him go, leaping into the club room.

"HELLO, EVERYONE! My name's SONIKA~!" She squawked.

Although Kaito snickered at the collapsed boy mercilessly, Len froze when he saw Rin's face. She almost appeared disbelieving and…in pain.

Almost instinctively, Len jumped to his feet and stammered, "I-It's not what you think! I don't even know that girl…"

Rin's eyes fell to the floor and her face darkened, before she snapped her head up, startling Len. Her face had transformed dramatically—she now looked rather mischievous.

"I see you got yourself a cute one, eh?" she sneered.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND, STUPID!" her brother fired back defensively, yet she persisted.

"I never knew you liked them _towering_ over you~ How much taller is she, like, a whole foot? Two? You barely reach up to her boo—mmfmfmffph!"

Her mocking words were silenced by the boy's hand over her mouth as he dragged her away, into the club room.

She was about to bite his hand off of her mouth, until she noticed his facial expression.

"Shut up…" he mumbled, looking away. A faint pink brushed over his face the slightest bit.

Once Kaito entered the room, Prima confronted him. "Is your pink-haired friend not joining us?"

When the man shook his head no, the instructor then turned to Gumi. "Is everyone here~?"

"Not yet," Gumi replied, "I handed the flier out to one more person…"

"Oh, that's right!" rejoined Prima, "How could I forget?"

Just then, the door opened and a girl with long, straight hair in a pinkish-reddish shade entered the room timidly.

"H-Hello…" she stuttered, blushing. "Is this the Music Group?"

Prima beamed and at last bellowed, with a clap of her hands, "Welcome, Miki-chan! Now, everyone, may we begin?"

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><p><strong>(AN) And the mystery woman turns out to be Prima! XD She's not well known, so I see why a couple of my readers were pondering who on earth she was. Review if you'd like~! I, personally, really liked this chapter, because it has a lot going on and reveals a few things. What about you? :3**


	9. Chapter 9: Kagamine Len

**(A/N) Ohay. I apologize, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. But I think it balances out the last chapter, which was the longest one I made yet x_x**

**In other news! ATTENTION ALL READERS: Do you like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni? How about any scary/murder-mystery stuff with cute girls as the main characters? Scary video games like Fatal Frame? Ghosts? CREEPY STUFF IN GENERAL? Then you'll LOVE the new fanfic I just made :D It's a crossover of Higurashi and Fatal Frame and takes place in Hinamizawa (warning, Higurashi season two spoilers) and a few years before the events of Fatal Frame 1. You don't need to know a lot about Fatal Frame since it's just taking some of the characters. I call mah story "When the Crimson Butterflies Scatter". Check it out if you like creepy stuff :D I worked hard on it, and it's plot is really deep and twisty, like my idol, Ryukishi07's works. (Though I will never be as amazing as him...) But if you don't like scary stories/murder mysteries/psychological horror, I suggest you stick to the kawaiiness of A Kiss xD Anywho, enjoy!**

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><p>"Now, now," Prima announced in a sing-songy tune. "Let's begin! Names, everyone!"<p>

She had the whole group sitting in a circle on the floor in the middle of the rather empty room. Tea had been passed around for everyone who walked in, and at last the room was devoid of any chaos or commotion that previously consumed it.

The instructor gestured a hand towards the girl with cerise-colored hair.

"Let's start with you!"

The timid girl straightened up and froze, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Ah-uhm…my name's M-Miki!" she stuttered at last, and dropped her eyes to her stiff hands in her lap, attempting to hide her reddening face.

"HAI, MIKI!" Sonika howled and sprang across the circle to hug (or, in Miki's eyes, _attack_) her. The cherry-haired girl screeched and curled into a ball as her assailant smothered her in her life-threatening embrace.

_Is she going to do that to _everyone _she meets…?_ Len silently grumbled to himself.

The hyperactive murderer, if I must say, then leaped to her feet and hollered with joy, "In case ya didn't hear me the first time, my name's SONIKA! Nice to meet you!"

Behind her, Miki shriveled up and withered away.

With this, Gakupo gasped and rushed to the dying soul's side. "No!" he cried beside her, "You mustn't die off! You haven't yet learned of my illustriousness! HANG IN THERE, O POOR BEING!"

"Gakupo, she will recover," Gumi said matter-of-factly behind the sobbing man, "And Sonika, let's try not killing our new members, if that's okay."

The green-haired killer shot a dirty look at Gumi. "You!" she shrieked, waving an accusing finger at the girl, "You gave me the wrong directions on purpose!"

"I assure you I did not," replied Gumi calmly, "But rather, you aren't the best at directions." She ended with a chuckle.

Before Sonika could protest further, she added, "Remember the day I gave you directions to a bakery and you ended up entering a strip club?"

This made Sonika transform into a whimpering puppy. "B-But…the sign said 'Sweet Buns Inside'…"

"WELL ISN'T THAT WONDERFUL~?" Kaito sang as he covered the ears of the two mortified (or rather, _one _mortified and _one _intrigued, you can guess which is which) golden-haired children beside him.

Prima kept her ever-present beam plastered on her face. "Let's continue, shall we? Next, the yellow-haired boy please—"

"Hey, what did you see in there when you walked in_?_" the yellow-haired boy was busy whispering in Sonika's ear.

She casually waved her hand and attempted to reply. "Aa, well, you know, these chics—"

Her answer was cut short by Rin's death glare as she pulled her perplexed brother away. The green-haired girl shrank, terrified.

Prima closed her eyes and tried again. "Well, now, let's keep going, Mister—"

"SHE'S ALIVE!" Gakupo announced victoriously as he held a slightly startled and confused Miki, dangling her by her arm.

Gumi clapped pleasantly, making the prince glitter even more dazzlingly.

Prima's brow twitched, along with her wavering smile. "Listen now, everyone—"

"LET GO OF MY HAIR, RIN!" Len yowled furiously, falling to the floor in his and his sister's quarrel.

"YOU LET GO OF MINE!" the girl countered with an equal amount of ire.

"Now, now…" Gumi attempted to break up the fight, yet at a distance.

Kaito blinked and turned to face Miku next to him, who, besides him and Prima, was the only one still sitting. "So, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream, hmm?"

The tealette merely tilted her head, perplexed.

At last, Prima felt a thread inside her snap through all the fuss. She clenched her fists against her lap and winced.

"_!"_

The woman bellowed louder than thunder, her voice vibrating throughout the building. Far in the distance, startled birds fled their homes in the trees, squawking and flapping around helplessly.

With the room suffocating in a deathly silence, the woman beamed once again.

"Now, what was your name again, boy?" she asked sweetly to the golden-haired child stiff in front of her, his hand frozen in his sister's hair. The sister had her hand frozen as well, shoving his face out of the way, smashing his cheek to the side.

"K-K-Kagamine Len," the boy stuttered, his voice muffled by his squished mouth and cheek.

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><p>After everyone (rather fearfully) introduced themselves, Kaito brought up something that was nagging him.<p>

"Why is it that everyone in here is…"

"—A Vocaloid?" Gumi finished. Miku blinked.

"Vocaloid?"

"It's what you are," answered Gumi, "Did you not know? You are a special type of human-made android that can sing."

"Err, anyway," Kaito stammered, attempting to change the subject, "I don't get it. Wouldn't some normal kids want to join the group too?"

"They did," Prima explained, "However, we never told them where to pick up the fliers, and therefore they could never come over. Gumi-chan only handed out fliers to Vocaloids we found in this school."

_H-How did she find out we were…_ Miki thought to herself, frightened.

"So? Why do you want to make a big group of us?" Len asked.

Prima closed her eyes once again, growing more serious.

"We believe there may be another Disaster occurring soon."

The room, besides Gumi, who appeared as grim as Prima, and a puzzled Miku, stared with wide eyes.

"That's awful…" Rin murmured.

Kaito almost looked fearful. "All that destruction…happening all over again?"

Prima nodded darkly. "However, it will most likely be different. The government is noticing the number of hidden creations rising, and also the number of Krydia being used in them. The police are hunting down the creations and their creators, arresting them, interrogating them and eventually mass murdering the bunches they find. It's an awful thing appearing on the news again and again, and it's causing the number of us created to dwindle. I predict, if there ever will even be a Third Era, there will be even fewer materials and even fewer number of successful creations than the Second."

A gloomy silence filled the room.

"Now, tell me…" the instructor proceeded, "how many of you know where your creators are right now?"

No one stirred.

"Very well." Prima straightened herself up. "I have brought you all here today to ask if you would care to join me in my mission: To find our creators and put an end to the government's unnecessary attacks."

Once more, a pause.

And then, Rin spoke up hesitantly.

"Can…can we really do that?"

Prima closed her eyes, and with a subtle smile, said, "Surely."

Miki stared at her twiddling fingers.

"I can finally…find him…" she whispered to herself.

"It's true," Gumi continued, "Some of us will uncover things we've always wanted to know. Awaken the memories inside us." As she said this, she glanced at Gakupo, sitting next to her and deeply in thought.

Miku's eyes widened the slightest bit.

"Memories…?"

Prima smiled genuinely at the girl. "Yes. I'm sure you have them, and I'm sure you can uncover them and find where you're truly from."

With that statement, the girl's teal eyes brightened, and her eyes grew even wider.

"You wish to know, don't you?" asked Prima.

With this, Miku dissolved into a marvelous beam, something so brilliant, it was as if it illuminated the entire room.

"Yes!"

Everyone around her stared, and Prima smiled back. With this single phenomenon, the whole group silently declared to themselves: they were going to find their creators and put an end to their injustice and misery.

All, except Len.

"Like hell I'd want to find that damn creator!"

He abruptly stood up, his head lowered, his eyes shadowed. Rin shot a glance at him. "Eh?" she choked.

"How could you even think of trying to do such a stupid thing, Rin?" Len shouted at his sister, nearly accusingly. "Have you already forgotten our promise?"

"No, Len, I never—"

"SHUT UP!" his hoarse scream silenced the startled girl. She looked on the verge of tears.

After a moment of silence, Rin quietly mumbled, her voice quavering, "Len, I…"

Her murmuring was interrupted by Len, muttering, "Just leave me alone, you liar."

He dashed out of the room and down the hall, followed by Rin and her strangled sob of his name as she raced after him.

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><p><strong>(AN) I think since this chapter was pretty short, the next one will be longer. Also, the next chapter is focusing on the twins. x333 Lalala~**

_**Random end-of-chapter babblings with Koe:**_

**Since I did this in my other story, I guess I should here. I read up about Higurashi to refresh my memory from watching the anime, and my goodness, I love Ryukishi07 more than life itself. He's a GENIUS. The way he overlaps and twists his plot up so mind-bogglingly...(is that even a word?) he was blessed with such brilliance~! I'm practicing creating such amazing stories like his with Crimson Butterflies. I'll try hard! ;A;**


	10. Chapter 10: Whisper Lake

**(A/N) RAWR. Sup :D I apologize for the chapter coming a little later, schoolwork took over D: But I really enjoyed this chapter, focused solely on the twins and their story. Please, enjoy~!**

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><p>Len ran.<p>

Len ran faster than he ever thought his legs could handle. He ran, as though the faster he dashed through the corridors of the school, the more reckless he was at veering around corners, the nearer he was to whatever destination his legs were taking him, the farther away that pain he felt in the club room would be from him. He thought, if just perhaps, he sprinted fast enough, he could escape that anguish that consumed him and imprisoned him in that room. He could tear through its barrier, shattering it, like breaking through burdening chains.

Yet that pain followed him, lingering in his shadow as his feet hit the tiled floors. It loomed deep in his innermost core, hiding beneath the piles of data collections and memories that masked his true feelings, true memories. It was those visions he pressed down and interred in his mind for so long. It was the footsteps he heard—he felt—behind him when he abruptly stopped walking. It was the single voice behind him crying his name as he halted and caught his breath. That single voice…

"_Len!_"

Len could recognize that voice immediately. It was a girl's voice, a voice that was usually so cheerful and charming, laced with a tomboy tenor. Yet why, now, was it engulfed in such desperation and distress, tinted with exhausted breaths?

"_Len, please, stop!_"

Why was this voice now, as it howled helplessly, nothing more than the utter embodiment of agony itself?

Len could feel himself caving into the sorrow. But, no—he couldn't. He couldn't allow that. Len ran farther.

He dashed, choking down an uninvited sob. He sprinted, sprinting farther from the voice, farther from the footsteps behind him, farther from the pain—and that knowledge that it would eventually envelope him in its torment regardless.

Len ran.

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><p>It seemed the end of infinity when Len's legs at last collapsed under him, and he crumbled to the awaiting grass beneath him. He wheezed for air, his entire body trembling. When his blurred vision began clearing, he could at last see his unsteady hands planted in the glistening grass rustling in the winter breeze, and the scattered white pixie flowers dancing among the blades of grass. And when he was able to recognize the mint-blue shade of grass, he cursed at himself through his panting breaths. He continued spitting swears at himself, clenching his fists and striking the dirt with fury. Why oh why, he asked himself, did he have to stop here…<p>

When he lifted his head, he found himself gazing upon a gorgeous lake in front of him, shimmering in the pale sun peeking through the silver clouds above. Its water stirred gracefully, colored in shades of azures and sea greens, surrounded by a beautiful ocean of blue-green grass around the lake. Why, he wondered, did he turn that corner to that stone trail that lead to this place, enclosed deep in the woods? Why could he have not kept straight at that main street? Why?

"Dammit all…"

He shut his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest, absorbing the essence of nature around him. The name of this secret world concealed among the towering trees of these woods echoed through his mind as he closed his eyes—Whisper Lake.

Along with this name, even now, he still remembered that day at that very lake, so long ago…

* * *

><p>Childish laughter rang throughout the enchanted forest merrily, as the two golden-haired siblings raced through that narrow stone trail. The brother of the pair chased after his sister as she beckoned him further into the woods.<p>

At last, with the young girl halted, and with gasping breaths the boy exclaimed, "Jeez, sis! What is it?"

"Here!" the girl sang as she gestured her hand to the scenery in front of her.

That brilliant lake, Whisper Lake, calmly stirred ahead of them.

The golden-haired boy was awe-struck as his sister proceeded, her eyes closed wistfully. "They say if you close your eyes, you can hear the fairies of the lake whisper the confessions of all the couples that ever entered here in your ear…"

Reluctantly, her brother shut his eyes, hands in pockets. After a brief moment, he grumbled.

"Sis, I can't hear anything, I think you're just crazy—"

His griping was cut off when he opened his eyes and saw the young girl staring straight at him, as if in a daze. They stood like that for a long moment, until he at last stammered, "Wh-What?"

As if this awakened her, the girl blinked before giving off a nervous laugh. She twirled away from the boy and skipped towards the lake.

"They also say if you throw a pebble into the lake, the number of times it skips is the number of years before you fall in love! I wanna try, lemme see~!"

She found herself a smooth grey stone and tossed it into the lake, before whining and stomping her foot on the grass.

"No~! Five years? That's too long~!"

Pestered enough, her brother yanked at her arm and dragged her away from the lake, muttering, "Yeah yeah, I'm hungry, let's go."

Yet, before the girl could protest, he added quietly,

"Though, it is a pretty lake…maybe we could visit again some time."

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><p>Len opened his eyes once more, and sighed, noticing the sky darkening. He stood up at last, ambling towards the lake. That was only the beginning…<p>

He collected a smooth pebble and examined it for a moment. Finally, he clasped the stone in his palm and hurled it towards the lake.

The pebble crashed into the lake and sank the second it touched the surface of the water.

Len chuckled to himself at the sight of this. He never was the best at skipping rocks…

After a long moment of merely gazing upon the lake, his hands tucked in his pants pockets, he contemplated returning to his school, or perhaps home. No one would find him here, not even Rin; after the "incident", she no longer had those precious memories that her brother held to his heart like a safety blanket. She forgot it all.

This silent conclusion he made in his head is why he was so absolutely staggered when he heard that tomboyish voice calling—or rather, crying—his name behind him.

"_LEN!_"

Wide-eyed, the boy spun around and froze in shock when he felt arms fling themselves around his neck, and a head bury itself into his shoulder, sobbing miserably.

"Rin…" he murmured, still unmoving, yet a tinge of pain ever so slightly tainting the expression on his face.

"Oh, Len, I'm so, so sorry!" the girl collapsed against him continued to wail, "I never forgot your promise. I'm so sorry…I just thought that maybe we could meet our creator and beat him up for his cruelty, or something… I never forgot, Len, I never did…I'm sorry…"

Len began to notice the girl's knees caving in, and crumpled to the ground with her, steadying her trembling shoulders with his arms. How she had discovered his hiding place, he did not know. But no matter what, he could not bear to see her cry so helplessly.

Gazing at her with sorrowful eyes, he sighed a puff of air and reached for her hand. She hiccupped and quieted her weeping when she felt his pinkie intertwine with hers.

"Eh…?"

She looked up, and her tear-stained face met the boy's somber one. He smiled at her woefully.

"It's okay," he whispered, "Our promise was never broken."

_Neither of them were…_

The golden-haired girl stared for a moment more before blubbering again, tears welling in her wide eyes. As she pawed her hand to try wiping those overflowing tears away, Len let out another puff of air through his forgiving smile, and gathered the girl in a hug.

The sudden embrace ceased the girl's breath, along with her tears.

"Please," with closed eyes, Len murmured in her ear, "Don't cry anymore."

His wish was granted, and she silenced her sobs. The boy helped her stand, and together, they both gazed at the enchanting lake in front of them.

"They say that if you close your eyes, you can hear the fairies of the lake whisper the confessions of all the couples that ever entered here in your ear," Len at last announced.

He shot a stunned glance at the girl beside him when she replied with a shy smile, "I know."

_What? But she never remembered Whisper Lake…_

She tilted her head towards the boy, and grinned. "I hear them," she added, as she began skipping away from him, from the lake.

Len merely stared her on, until he sighed to himself once again, almost in an amused manner, and trailed along behind his sister, teasing, "Nah, sis, I think you're just crazy."

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><p><strong>(AN) OwO Kaaaaaawaiiiiiiiiiiii =w= Kk, gtg to bed now. I apologize if I'm late sometimes nowadays, school is hell =A= Thx for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11: Mystery Crooks

**(A/N) Yaaaay! Chapter 11! Woulda uploaded it sooner...but I was cursed with a bad day yesterday, and with bad days come *Le GASP* WRITER'S BLOCK. ;3; But then I read Umineko! And I got the whole "love" philosophy thing from there. Thanks, Ryukishi07! Curing me of my writer's block...enjoy!**

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><p>At the club room, the rest of the group was in a confused daze after Rin chased after a furious Len. Until at last, Gakupo wondered, "What was that all about?"<p>

"What's with all the people running out of the room so much…" Kaito grumbled to himself.

"Some people have things they'd rather not remember…" Prima explained distantly.

"Sa, shall we proceed?" Gumi rejoined, waiting for everyone's attention.

"All of us understand what the government is performing—each day, more and more creators and their creations are taken away, turning up missing constantly. The news is continually reporting these cases in such a manner that praises the government and makes the creators look like criminals, and us, as monsters. Yet the truth remains hidden as to where the government is truly taking their prisoners."

"Although the news constantly declares the creators put to death by the government, we need to examine it fully," Prima continued, "After all, unlike the foolish humans that take in everything the government tells them, all of those fabrications about how monstrous and evil we are as creations, we know that honestly, we are not as malicious as they say we are. Since the government so obviously lies about these kinds of things, we can never know for sure that they aren't making up other kinds of lies as well. Like, for instance, about where they take their 'convicts' and whether or not they are truly dead."

Kaito hesitated before asking, "But, what would be their motive for imprisoning the creators and pretending to kill them?"

A slight, knowledgeable smile graced Prima's lips. "That is still uncertain. Yet, haven't you heard of those shady conspiracies about the government catching a criminal and hiding them away to torture them into revealing all they know? Since the creators have been conducting such secret labs and using such special tools such as the Krydia, I would suspect the government would like some insight on such things."

"It must especially interest the government that the Great Disaster did not silence the reports of creations, and somehow the creators managed to pick up remaining scraps and create the Second Era even after everything was destroyed," Gumi added. "And also…I believe they must be out to discover the location in which creators are finding the Krydia."

Miku tilted her head.

"Krai-dee-yah?" said Sonika.

"Oh, my! You don't know of the Krydia, the spiritual crystal inside a minority of creations like us?" Gakupo gasped, eyes wide.

"Woah~! Spiritual? So like, _ghosts_ and stuff?" Sonika leaned closer to the glittering Gakupo. Gumi sighed.

"Err…well, somewhat." She proceeded. "If you don't know, the Krydia is a special crystal found in very few creations, a mythical gem that is said to connect the physical world with the spirit world. With this, some creators are able to link their creations with the spirit world and take emotions from those spirits to give their creations feelings like love, sadness and happiness, thus making them more human. This is a completely different bunch of feelings from our 'emotion' patches all of us get, because it isn't manmade. But if this isn't done carefully, one could take energy from the demons vengeful ghosts that roam the spirit world, and then they would have truly created a monster."

Miki, with an anxious expression on her face, looked to her lap and tensed up. "U-Um…" she stammered. "I heard that the very first of us created…was a failure…and ate his creator alive."

Kaito and Gakupo appeared alarmed by this fact, and slightly frightened; Sonika shrieked, terrified; Gumi and Prima's faces only grew grim. Miku blinked, her eyes ever so slightly wider.

"No way…" Kaito stuttered, "That isn't true, right, Prima-sensei…?"

Miki abruptly straightened up and gave a nervous smile, waving her statement off and laughed, "Well, well, you know! It was just a spooky story…"

Yet Prima replied sternly, "It could very much likely be plausible."

This silenced the room, as Gumi added on, "We are also still unsure of whether or not that certain creation is still alive or dead. The government could be imprisoning it as well."

"That damn government, lying to all those people again and again…" Gakupo muttered.

Miku, who was gazing silently at the group this entire time, at last spoke up, her face blank as always.

"I don't understand," she announced, "Why do so many humans believe the government, if it is lying to all of them all the time? What makes them so trusting to this thing?"

In his mind, Kaito grumbled to himself, _Because they're all idiots…_ but Prima gave Miku a chuckle and answered, "Because of love."

Since this only puzzled Miku more, Prima elucidated further. "When humans see someone they like doing something generous for others, they think it is because that person is a good person. But when they see someone they dislike doing the same thing, they believe that person is just putting up a show of some sort and pretending. Their 'truth' becomes warped by whether or not they love someone."

"So, the humans love the government, and thus will believe they are doing is the right thing and believe their lies?" Miku processed the new information, attempting to comprehend it.

Prima smiled, wisdom rich in her eyes. "The government proclaimed it gave the humans so much. Civilization, jobs, houses, money…it is as though it takes care of the human race, and they will all take in everything that is said to them like truth. We, on the other hand, are treated like garbage by the government, therefore show no love back and think of the thing as a horrible group of tyrants. It is like how the cubs of a fox love their mother, yet the rabbits that will be the fox's meal do not. To the cubs, the mother is a hero, giving them food after a long day of no meals, yet to the rabbits, the fox is an evil predator that they need to watch out for. Everything and everyone is seen in a different atmosphere in different eyes."

"B-But the government hurts us and our creators so cruelly!" Miki cried, turning crimson, "We still have every right to get mad at them!"

Gumi nodded reassuringly. "Of course, of course, however it would be difficult to make the humans agree with such things, other than the creators themselves."

"The creators would most definitely agree the government is cruel!" Gakupo exclaimed rather dramatically. "They are the ones getting locked away by the government!"

"But where?" pondered Kaito.

Sonika tilted her head in the air in wonder, placing a finger on her chin. "Hmm…maybe somewhere no one would expect, like…an ICE CREAM SHOP!"

Everyone gazed at the girl in awe of how ridiculous she was. Save for Kaito, who leapt closer to her and sang, "Ooh, ice cream, I like, I like~"

"Gumi and I are currently unsure of the location of where they are imprisoning the creators and creations," Prima closed her eyes. "But, we believe there's a nice chance it is here, in Tokyo."

"The reason for that is because this is where the majority of creations like us are created," Gumi expounded. "There's also the possibility there are a few other locations scattered around the globe, like perhaps in Germany, where the first creation was made."

"Ew, 'creation'. What a nasty name for us."

The discussion was interrupted by a chilling, yet feminine, voice behind the group. An unfamiliar voice to any of them.

The entire team turned around to see two figures standing at the tall, open window in the far wall of the room. One was a woman with hair as black as night held up in two twin tails, fluttering in the wind. Her skin was pale, almost tinted a shade of grey, and her uniform was almost identical to Miku's, except it was in a grey, black and red color palette, and showed much more skin. She stood smirking next to a crouching man beside her, whom appeared to be a near duplicate of her, with midnight black hair and a similar uniform and color scheme. The only difference was he sported no twin tails, his hair short and boyish, and wore a long coat over his own uniform, in which opted for pants rather than a short skirt.

"Wh-Who are you…?" Miki stammered, terrified to death.

Her fright only made the twin-tailed girl snicker sickly.

"We didn't come here to get cozy with introductions," the mysterious woman said harshly. Her bitter words put the fragile Miki on the verge of tears.

The risqué woman nodded to the boy kneeling beside her, as if signaling him. He smirked almost playfully, before saying with glee, "If I may~"

With this, he leapt into the center of the room with agility, scooping a dazed Miku in his hands. Swiftly, before Kaito could get a word (or a punch) in, the man dashed across the room and fled the scene through the window he came from. Behind him, his look-alike woman sneered and gave one last "Bye~!" before turning and vanishing with the man and Miku.

With their appearance—and disappearance—came a long silence that drowned the room. But at last Gakupo exclaimed, "Wh-What was that all about?"

"Th-They took Miku…!" Kaito choked.

The atmosphere of the room tensed up, and they fell silent once again. But at last, Kaito sprinted to the window the crooks escaped from and reached for it.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Miki stuttered as Kaito placed a foot on the window's edge.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to go get Miku back!" He shouted over his shoulder, almost in a frustrated tone. "Aren't you coming with me?"

The crowd stared with hesitation, until finally, still wondering what precisely was happening at that moment, the team nodded with certainty and got to their feet—because that would be the only way they could discover.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) WTF WHO ARE THESE BLACK HAIRED BANDITS AND WHAT DO THEY WANT WITH MIKU iknowrite OwO? This one was a pretty dialogue heavy chapta...but I felt it was needed. Nee~! :D I'm thinking I'll like writing the next chapter...sounds so fun~! =w=**

_**Random end-of-chapter babblings with Koe:**_

__**Just read all the mangas of Umineko before Chiru. I. Love. It. The anime left out way too many things! And the ending was drastically different. But it really opens your eyes on the world and taught me a lot of great things about writing and techniques. I'm going to go read Chiru now, then Tsubasa...then the Higurashi manga...aren't they supposed to tie together? SOMEHOW? I THINK BERNKASTEL=RIKAAAAAA and MIYOKO=LAMBDADELTAAAA but why are they witches in one world and normal girls in another...OH RYU07 HOW CONFUSING YOU ARE~ /shot**


	12. Chapter 12: The Ravenhaired Bandits

**(A/N) I'M ALIVE! My goodness...I've been on hiatus nee D: You see, my mind is speshul. I can pump out chapter after chapter, then suddenly, it hits me in the face-the big wall of WRITER'S BLOCK. I got over it at last. Another thing is my schedule's been so tight lately I haven't had the three hours (yes, three) I need to write each chapter. So, I apologize profusely. I'll try shaking off the writer's block and pump out some more chaptas more often!**

* * *

><p>The sun fled behind the mountains far in the distance as the day dragged on. Rin and her brother shuffled through the familiar streets, heading back to their house, reticently averting their gazes from each other. Rin glanced at her twin every so often before timidly staring down at her feet scuffling along the gravel; Len merely shoved his hands in his pockets and pretended to be interested in the flaccid clouds seeping in the sky.<p>

He suddenly snapped out of his daze, however, when he saw two shadowy figures dash across the rooftops in front of him. Between those figures, he could make out teal-colored locks of hair rolling through the air.

"Miku?"

Rin looked up, as did the shadowy figures, who craned their neck over to the boy. He could make out their details now; a girl that looked strikingly like Miku, yet more mature and with black and crimson clothing, and a man nearly identical to the mystery woman.

"Aa, damn, he knows her," the girl hissed, then snapped, "Let's hurry and get out of here!"

"Rin, Len!" Miku waved at the two, completely and utterly unknowing.

The mystery man smirked at the twins, who glared at him angrily.

"Len, why do they have Miku?" Rin gasped, and, knowing something was amiss, her brother replied hastily, "Let's go, we can't let them run away with her!"

As you may know, the two siblings were skilled at thievery and the masters of traps and escapes. They swiftly sprinted towards the houses, sprang onto a cluster of garbage cans and leapt onto the rooftop.

As they bounded towards the strangers and Miku, they only received malevolent sneers.

"Stupid kids," muttered the mystery woman as she nodded to her partner in crime and they both dove off the rooftop to the ground, and out of their pursuers' vision.

Rin and Len followed, yet that led to a dreadful mistake as they vaulted off the rooftop. The two robbers came into view, until the man kicked an open garbage can towards the twins' landing area and tossed them one last smirk before disappearing with Miku and the look-alike woman.

In horror, the siblings yelped before tumbling into the garbage can helplessly. It toppled over, them inside it, before crashing to the ground and creating puffs of dirt around it. The twins coughed, and by the time Len opened his eyes, the bandits had vanished.

"Dammit!" he beat the ground with his hand—another awful mistake. The can they were stuck in tipped over and began to roll downhill. As it picked up speed, the twins gawked at each other in horror, and screamed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, their friends, Kaito, Prima, Miki, Gumi, Gakupo and Sonika were racing out of the school courtyard, hoping they could find where Miku was taken to. As they searched, Prima glanced at Gumi.<p>

"I think those two people might give us a clue about our creators," she said through gasping breaths.

"Eh? How?" asked Gumi.

"Those two…looked an awful lot like each other, and like Miku. Haven't you heard…of the creators who base their designs off of other creator's ones?"

Miki gaped at Prima. "Eh? So those two were copies of Miku?"

"I have heard of that," replied Gumi, "So, you think that they might be taking Miku to their creator themselves?"

"Perhaps," speculated Prima, "So, this may be a hint to our pasts."

Kaito merely grimaced.

* * *

><p>"Nice job," the raven-haired mystery woman praised the man next to her. "We lost those idiots."<p>

They slowed and strutted through a dark forest, the man still carrying a perplexed Miku.

The woman snickered at the tealette. "Man, no wonder Jiji wanted you so bad. You have a nice body for that old perv."

"How cute," the man chuckled as Miku tilted her head in confusion. "And she's light, too."

He set her on her feet and backed her up against a tree, clenching her wrists and holding them up.

"I may just take you for myself," he hissed, grinning crazily and licking his lips.

"Hey, hey, Aniki, you'll get Jiji pissed again." The woman behind him placed a hand on her curvy hips. "He's already mad enough you didn't turn out to be a girl."

The man twisted his head over to her. "Not my fault, now is it?" he sneered.

"Who are you two?" Miku spoke up.

"Oh, would you really like to know?" the woman brought a hand to her chest and declared, "I am Miku Zatsune. This here is my brother, Mikuo Zatsune."

"Pleasure to meet you," the man, Mikuo, leaned even closer to the tealette, gripping her side. He stood a full head taller than her.

"We're taking you to see our master, who's always really wanted to see you. But of course, Hiroyuki-san wouldn't allow that."

"Hiroyuki-san?" wondered Miku.

"Eh? You don't know?" Mikuo's smile vanished for only a moment before he subtly smirked once again. "He's your creator, of course."

* * *

><p>"WHAT!" explained Meiko, who dropped her bottle of sake on the floor. "MIKU WAS KIDNAPPED?"<p>

Rin and Len nodded profusely. They had raced all the way to their home, where Meiko, Leon, Lola, Miriam and Sweet Ann were all preparing dinner in the kitchen. They were wheezing for air, and plastered in dirt and mud, as the garbage can they were trapped in rolled down a dirt hill before flopping into a giant mud puddle at the bottom.

"They…fled to a forest right by the neighborhood a few blocks away…" Rin gasped.

"We…have to go find them…" finished Len.

The panicking group in front of them agreed, as they grabbed their coats and shoes. Yet Leon pondered, "Er…You guys…why are you so dirty…?"

"Well—" Rin began, but her twin cut her off, gesturing his hand proudly towards Leon.

"It was an all-out battle," Len proclaimed, "There were punches flying everywhere. I tackled him to the ground, and his blood mixed with the mud. Rin and the chic were having a hissy fight off to the side, though."

"Oh, did you really? How many bones did you break?"

"I believe four. And a tooth. It was pretty ugly. Even some of his hair was falling out in clumps, though I never pulled his hair, that's what sissies like Rin would do."

"LIAR!" Rin shouted, "I can punch better than you, Len!"

"Yeah the hell right you can!" her brother countered, "The only thing you can punch are letters on your cell, you stupid girly girl!"

"You wanna bet?" Rin shrieked before the two attacked each other yet again.

"Wow, those two youngsters…" Lola said in awe. "The fights they get themselves in…"

"They sound a lot like you when you're on your perio—" Leon was unable to finish, before he received a lethal sock to the face. "—Blachk!"

Meanwhile, however, Meiko fell to the floor and sobbed over the shattered remains of the sake bottle she dropped. Sweet Ann stood, completely confused at the site she was seeing.

All was chaos until a loud SMACK echoed throughout the room.

In the deathly silence, everyone looked over at the one who created such a sudden noise—Leon looked up as he lied on the floor, his nose gushing—Lola craned her neck behind her, her fist still in the air—Meiko, with tearful eyes, glanced up from the mess on the floor that Sweet Ann was attempting to clean, though she halted as well—Rin and Len tilted their head over, the brother pinching one of his sister's cheeks and the sister tugging at his hair. All was silent, all was frozen.

Miriam created a crack in the wall when she slammed her fist against it.

"You all." She muttered. "Miku has been kidnapped by some strangers, and who knows what their intentions are."

She glanced up, her eyes glaring menacingly. "And yet you decide to cause havoc in this room rather than saving her?"

The world continued to be hushed, so she proceeded. "Do you think we have time? Miku could be killed right now, for all we know. They took her in a _forest, _for the love of God. And we sit here and fight about make-believe fights?"

Rin paused, before peeling her brother off of her and stammering, "Y-Yeah! Miriam's right! We gotta go save Miku! She could be dead, dead! Let's go guys, we have no time!" she raced to the door.

As she swung the door open, however, she halted in shock. A woman was standing at the doorway, her rose-colored hair flowing in the chilling winter breeze.

"Eh?" Rin stuttered. Meiko gasped.

"You're…!"

"Everyone." The woman began, "I know where the two bandits are heading with Miku. I saw them as I was passing by. Follow me."

As she turned to lead, however, Len snapped.

"Like hell we'll follow you! I don't even trust you!"

Irritated, Luka snapped back.

"Do you want Miku safe or not? This is your only chance to rescue her."

Len paused, and looked away, focusing his glare to the ground.

"M-Maybe…" Rin stammered, gazing at her brother. "It's for Miku…"

"Well? Are you coming?" the lady stared impatiently.

"Fine," Len grumbled, then shouted, "But if this is a trick, you're done for!"

The rose-haired girl placed a hand on her hip. "I assure you otherwise," said she, "And please, call me Luka."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Oooh, deepening plots. Fun fun. Stay tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuned owo and lol Hiroyuki-san**

_**Random end-of-chapter babblings with Koe:**_

__**I found them. Those pieces of heaven on earth. They were at Fred Meyer-that place has EVERYTHING. In chocolate creme flavor...by god, they were BEYOND HUMAN'S COMPREHENSION OF DELICIOUS. Those things..._TIMTAMS._**

**Thank you Rosary-Bead for helping me discover such beautiful things ;w; /shot**


	13. Chapter 13: The Wastelands

**(A/N) Soup! :D Yeaaaah! No writer's block! I need to split yet another chapter in two cuz this one is too long :3 So the rest of it will be in chapter 14!**

**Oh gosh, unlucky number 13. . . what does that mean? ;A; Maybe it means bad luck for one of the characters. But which one...? Read on to find out!**

* * *

><p>"Jeez, girl, quit dragging behind."<p>

Miku appeared somber as she shuffled behind her nagging duplicate. They were leading her through a twining trail somewhere deep in an overgrown forest. It was a place the teal-haired girl never had set foot on,

_Processing…processing…_

_Unknown area found. Presumably an unidentifiable forest from collected data: Surroundings include trees, grass, stones and dirt trails in which are key elements of what a forest is complete of._

…

_Unknown emotion surfaced._

_Possible danger to system._

_Location: Inner core._

_Level 3 virus leaked. System repair commencing…_

Miku clutched her chest and looked down, a sense of pain evident in her eyes.

"I…"

While the raven-haired woman simply ignored her, a hand on her hip, the man glanced at her. "What?"

"I…miss my friends…"

With this, the man next to her couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the sorrowful girl. Yet the woman merely flipped her hair and shot an annoyed glare at the girl.

"Well, that's too bad, isn't it?"

Unknowing that Zatsune's comment was meant to be rude, the tealette nodded her head woefully, still looking down.

The man, on the other hand, lightly placed a hand on Miku's arm to lead her, as she was lagging behind. After doing this, with realization, his eyes grew the slightest bit wider as he turned to his sister.

"Hey, sis...what are we going to do with her after our…plan takes action?"

"Hmph. I'm not sure. Probably just hand her off to some nearby scientist and make a run for it."

"Aa, I don't think we should do that—"

The woman snapped her head at her brother. "Why not? Oh god, Aniki, don't tell me you're serious about keeping her all for yourself."

"No, it's just another reason—"

"Whatever. We're here." The woman ended with a sharp sting of jealousy, as she looked upon what appeared to be—at first glance—a garbage dump. They reached the other end of the city—the Wastelands.

The floor was no longer emerald grass—the raven-haired woman's heels tapped against the timber gray concrete beneath them. The ground, however, abruptly cut off into a steep cliff, narrow, steel stairs on its side leading to the bottom—a vast land of wrecked cars and littering trash, all caked in dirt and surrounded by a heavy fog.

"Welcome to the Underground Dump," the woman cheered as she beckoned the two behind her down the flight of stairs. She then led them to a small cave made out of a huge, rectangular scrap of metal resting on top of a heap of garbage and two crushed cars on top of each other on either side of the scrap. Inside the trash-made cave was pitch-black darkness.

"We're home," the woman sang, a hand still on her hip.

"Aa, Zatsune-chan, it's you," a shrill voice called from inside the cave, and a dim, flickering light blinked on in the darkness. Inside the cave was an old man with a shriveled body, long, white whiskers consuming his face. He wore bent glasses with circular lenses.

"We brought a present for you~" the raven-haired woman continued, and ushered Miku towards the elder man. He gasped and staggered backward.

"Y-You really…!"

Zatsune Miku nodded gleefully.

As the old man marveled his "present", Mikuo walked his sister to the side.

"Hey…" he murmured, "I really don't think we should just hand her off to some scientist when this is over."

"Ugh, for the love of God, Aniki, you'll be fine without—"

She halted when he grabbed her wrists and backed her against a toppled-over car, startling her. His bangs shadowed over his eyes, yet his scowl appeared grin.

"Sis. She can't get in the hands of these creeps, because…!"

"To have this girl…has been a dream for me…!" the old man ahead of them stumbled towards the perplexed tealette. "And now…with that damn Hiroyuki-san out of the way…you can be mine! Ahahaha…and being a Pazlimin now, you won't object…you won't object…oh, just the thoughts of what I'm going to do to your youthful body…and you won't—"

He placed his hands on her. To any android, this would be meaningless. They would not have the human nature to find this indignant. Yet the second he did this, she choked on her breath as a vision rushed into her mind.

This man constantly walked to their door daily. He pleaded for her, begged to see her, even if she barely knew him. And …-san had to shoo him away, practically beating him off the doorstep. …-san…-san…u-san…

_U-san…?_

She shoved him away.

Human instinct.

The three around her gawked, stunned.

She raised her arms in front of her in self-defense, her eyes wide and breath trembling, and shoved him.

For a long moment, they stood like this; the old creep gawking at her with a dropped jaw, the two Zatsunes staring from a distance in shock, and Miku taking a self-defensive stance in front of the pervert.

His flabbergasted expression quickly turned to one of anger as he bellowed at the girl, "HOW DARE YOU! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY! BE MINE!"

He tackled the tealette, and spit bitter words in her face as she tumbled to the ground. She didn't obey—she didn't commit—she didn't do what was expected.

She furrowed her brows and screamed, tears welling in her eyes:

"GET OFF ME!"

"Request accepted~"

A voice came suddenly from behind her, and before the two Zatsunes could react, a figure swiftly leapt past them and struck the old man, nicking him off of Miku and stumbling across the gravelly ground, kicking up dust along the way.

At last, the old pervert ended up back against the gravel, the hand of a man with hair as blue as the ocean cinching his fat neck.

"Don't fucking touch her, you hog."

Miku quickly sat up and yelled, "Kaito!"

The creepy old man choked and struggled for air, his eyes popping out of his skull.

Kaito could never finish the job, however, when someone swirled through the air and clouted him, bashing his head into the ground. He slid across the gravel before picking himself up and glaring through the pain.

Zatsune Miku had kicked him in the side of the head, and now she stood above her master, whom was gasping for breaths, and placed a hand on her hip. She smirked cruelly.

"I'm still alive, Onii-chan."

Kaito smirked back, wiping the blood off his chin with the back of his hand. "I noticed."

"NOT ANYMORE!"

A shriek came from behind them, and suddenly the ravenette flew across the field from a lethal blow to the head.

Behind them, Sonika stood victoriously with a bent lamp, in which she swung directly at the woman's skull.

"Sonika-chan!" called out Miku, whom was currently held captive by Zatsune Mikuo.

"Here to save the day~!" Sonika winked at the teal-haired girl and threw a peace sign at her.

"Way to go, Sonika…!" Kaito cheered, making the girl glitter even more so.

"That wasn't very nice."

Her glitters fell from above when she heard this hissing voice. Sonika's eyes widened as she turned in its direction.

"I just died.*"

Despite shattered fragments of a whole chunk of her head trailing across the floor to where she landed, and that whole chunk raggedly blown off her head, Zatsune Miku lifted herself off the ground, that smirk still plastered on her face. Black liquid splattered on the gravel and trickled down her face.

"What…?" Sonika gasped, "She's alive? I should have blasted off a whole half of her system storage and severed her channels! And she's a Second Era, bleeding…? They don't have blood…?"

"Girls like you really are stupid…" Zatsune Miku said bitterly, spitting some more black liquid out and standing upright. She placed a hand on her hip yet again. "Sometimes the scientist puts the system storage somewhere else in the android's body."

"So…it's not where your brain should be…?" Kaito stammered. "Then…where is it?"

"Like I'd tell you, DUMBASS!" the woman scoffed harshly, her grin teeth-bearing and wicked.

"My creation has blood made out of black oil I found," the old man said with a quivering voice.

Meanwhile, Mikuo Zatsune kept hold on a squirming Miku, standing beside his cowering creator. This didn't last for long, however, when a voice came from behind him—

"You should be more aware of the things around you."

He felt a blade press against his neck.

"…Shouldn't you?" the old man beside Mikuo suddenly felt a girl kneel beside him and force what felt like a…mallet against his head.

Mikuo's eyes grew wide—his creator's even wider. Miku gasped with surprise and hope.

"You should let the girl go now, before your head goes first…" the man behind Mikuo continued.

However, Mikuo merely paused, and snickered, before disappearing out of sight with Miku and his useless creator.

His attackers stood, confused, until they saw him swiftly leap onto a mound of metal and garbage. He put the tealette and the old pervert down, sneering straight at the sword and mallet-wielding ones below him.

"I'd rather keep my dashing good looks," he scorned.

"Miki-chan, Gakupo-kun…!" Miku cried.

Miki froze, startled. Yet she soon gained the willpower to shake it off and declare, "No…Miku-chan needs us to come to her rescue…if this is the case…" she straightened up and lifted her chin, raising an oversized mallet with a cherry design on either side to point at Zatsune Mikuo, "…I'm going to try my hardest!"

This only made the raven-haired man grin more mischievously. "How brave. I like it. Hey, you're pretty cute."

"SHUT UP!" Miki hollered as she sprang in the air and aimed her mallet to strike the man in the face. Her weapon was too heavy to bring down quick enough, however, and her target dodged out of sight with agility.

_He's fast…!_ Miki thought with shock as she dove to the metal surface beneath her.

"Too slow~!" a voice suddenly sang behind her, and, with bulging eyes, she tilted her head around to see a fist flying in her direction.

Yet the man's attack was interrupted by a plank of wood slammed against his face.

As Prima walloped the plank against his skull, he crashed to the gravel head-first and rolled. The assaulter skid her heels against the metal Miki had landed on, and next to Miku and the old man. Half of Mikuo's skull crumbled and burst across the gravel, black oil gushing out incessantly. Yet all that was inside were mechanical machinery.

"Prima-sensei…!" Miki and Miku both gasped in unison.

"Do you like my weapon? I found it near the stairs~!" Prima giggled, swinging the plank over her shoulder. "Now, let's get Miku-chan out of here!"

"H-How did you know we were here…?" the old man trembled below her.

"I've heard about the Wastelands being used for underground labs and androids like us, so I took a guess, really," replied Prima, "and then we saw a flash of teal hair in all this gray rubble."

Gakupo hopped atop the metal platform and rejoined with, "Now, if you excuse us~"

He never even got to reach Miku, however, when a blur of a silhouette snatched her and the elderly man away once again.

"You're going to have to try harder," the raven-haired bandit called out to them a distance away. When the fog cleared, the three choked on their breath when they saw his face.

A whole chunk of his skull was demolished, oil pouring out of it and splattered across the rest of his face. Some of his skin had peeled off of his metallic insides, much like chipping paint, and his teeth-baring sneer stretched to half his face before breaking off into a skinless, lipless mouth and cheeks. One eye, on the destroyed side of his face, was shattered like glass and bulging, skinless as well. Its pupil spun upwards.

"I'm not dead yet." He declared, grabbing a nearby metal pole.

It was a terrifying sight. And yet, the three willed themselves to shake off the fear and brace themselves for battle.

Meanwhile, Kaito, Sonika, and Miku Zatsune were having their own battle, as Sonika repeatedly swung her broken lamp at the woman and Kaito swung his fists at her. Being as swift as her brother, she dodged over and over, taunting, "Just try and find where my 'brain' is! HAHAHA!"

_Damn…! _Kaito muttered to himself after he swung yet another punch that missed.

_She's too fast…!_ Sonika muttered as well.

_How can we…?_

Sonika's thought process abruptly ceased when she saw Zatsune kick Kaito in the stomach and send him flying, immediately after clenching Sonika's lamp. Sonika froze in shock as the ravenette prepared to strike with her leg, cackling bitterly.

At the same time, Mikuo had been fighting off Gakupo's sword with his black pole. At last he shoved the sword out of the violet-haired man's grip with his own weapon, making his opponent stumble to the floor.

"SONIKA-!" Kaito shouted as he attempted to recover and saw Zatsune Miku swing her leg towards the green-haired girl.

Though her goal could never be achieved.

She halted mid-kick and choked in front of a startled Sonika, eyes wide. At last, she collapsed to the pile of metal scraps below her, and the lamp-wielder in front of her could see the reason behind this sudden defeat.

Gumi had picked up Gakupo's fallen sword, leapt across four mountains of garbage, and stabbed the sword straight into where Zatsune Miku's heart should be.

"Found your storage system," Gumi said blankly as her victim coughed up a splatter of oil, "You should be dead within less than five minutes."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Oh dang. Looks like Zatsune Miku has the bad luck. Or maybe Mikuo, since his DASHING GOOD LOOKS got ruined by Prima's plank o wood. ;D This chapter was fun to write! Very actiony! And I made up the perverted old piece of crap if you were wondering ;D What should his name be~?**

_**Random end-of-chapter babblings with Koe:**_

**Happy Thanksgiving! Did you eat lots of yummy food? I had pumpkin pie zomjesus eAe Deliciousness.**

**In other news, I'm learning a lot of parapara dances nowadays. I've learned Berryz Kobo - Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama, Buono - Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! and I'm about to go learn Morning Musume - Only You. (Yeah they're all H!P and I love H!P sosososo much~~ but I'll go learn some AKB48 ones tew and this cute new korean idol group called APink's song "It Girl") ;3 It's a great way to exercise! Balance out all the food I ate today~~ *A* Cya!**

**EDIT: Hehe, I forgot to put: *This phrase is a reference to Full Metal Alchemist X333 Lust saysss it onceee Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeea ;D**


	14. Chapter 14: Realization

**(A/N) Yooooooou. :D I accidentally thought this was chapter 15 for a while...but I FIXEDEDED IT ;D**

**Sad news: I'm going to most likely be gone for a few weeks D:. Maybe just a week or two. I need to catch up on a few things, I have many things to do at school and whatnot! Fffu, I was so finished with half of this story when my computer got a virus and so I couldn't post this the day after Chapter 13 D; Sucks. But now I have so many things to do, and I'm planning out my own original story as well...so here's the conclusion to the Wasteland predicament, please enjoy this and hang tight!**

**Not sad news: I finished two History essays in one day yesterday. Biiiiiiiitches *A*/**

* * *

><p>"Found your storage system," Gumi said indifferently, "You should be dead in less than five minutes."<p>

"Gh…kh…wha…?" Zatsune Miku could only sputter garbled words and oil as she brought her twitching, wide-eyed stare to the sword protruding out of her chest.

"Eh…?" shocked as well, Sonika fell backwards to the metal surface below her, her eyes bulging at the goggle-donning girl in front of her. Gumi had caught Zatsune from behind.

"Way to go, Gumi…!" a distance away, Kaito cheered on the girl.

Three mountains of garbage behind the sword-wielder, the rest of the group also froze, stunned.

"Gumi…" Gakupo murmured, almost in awe as he ogled at the girl, his narcissistic prince-like ways not evident at the time.

Zatsune Mikuo at last broke the trending daze by cringing at Gumi and shouting, "Damn you…!" as he attempted to attack Gakupo in front of him. This was interrupted, however, when Miki struck him from behind with her mallet, right where his heart would be. After all, if his sister had her "brain" there, he must as well, as they had the same creator.

Gumi tossed her head over her shoulder casually and said, "I apologize for holding your honorable sword without permission, Gakupo-sama. I felt, however, it was crucial."

She then shot a look at her victim, who was shifting her head over her trembling shoulders to gaze anxiously and with bulging eyes at the attacker behind her.

"You're wondering how I knew, aren't you?" Gumi mused effortlessly. "'How could she possibly figure out my storage system was here', right? It was simple, and quite obvious, actually. For androids like us, there is a map that displays the layout of our entire bodies, as systems. There are contrivances in us, much like organs in humans, which are vital parts of our system. Branching off of these organs are the circuits, much like veins, that channel the electricity in us that powers us. But, there is a certain area in our system that must have a 'key' organ in it, otherwise the system will not work properly. And that is in our chest, where a human's heart would be. Without something there, the circuits have no home, if you will. Normally, either Krydias or debugging storage is kept in the chest. But, seeing as you don't have your storage system in your head and you obviously have no Krydia, it's obvious your creator switched where your debugging storage and system storage would be placed. So, while Sonika destroyed your ability to fight off infecting viruses, you did not shut down. But, now, I'm afraid this is goodbye."

The dying ravenette could only wheeze miserably.

"A-Amazing! Gumi is brilliant!" Miki marveled. Prima, however, noticed something, her eyes widening.

_Something's wrong…_

"I could kill you right now, if you'd like," Gumi said with such a blank voice it almost frightened Sonika in front of her, "My sword is currently holding your storage system in place, which is slowly dying. But if I was to withdraw the sword, the storage system would crumble, and you'd immediately shut down."

"Kh…what?" Mikuo hissed, unable to stand as he glared at the girl three garbage mounds away. "How could she do something that cruel so easily? To my sister…?"

"That's Gumi," Gakupo said wistfully, with a subtle smile on his lips, "Not afraid to get her hands dirtied for others."

"Wh…wh…" Zatsune Miku stumbled over her words helplessly, shuddering violently.

"Hmm? What is that?" Gumi inquired.

"Why…are you…"

Prima suddenly gasped and shouted, "Gumi—"

But it was too late.

"Why am I what, now?" pondered Gumi.

"Why…are you so…"

The "dying" raven-haired android suddenly broke into a sinister smile.

In a flash of a moment, she sprang away from the puzzled green-haired girl, seized a nearby shard of glass from the scattered piles of trash littered across the floors, gouged her wound from the sword and immediately after leapt in the air to strike Gumi square in the face with her twirling leg.

"—STUPID!"

With that mocking question and ruthless kick, she skidded to the floor as Gumi flew through the air and slammed against a demolished car, shattering its driver's door window. Everyone watching the scene gasped in horror as Gumi yelped and collapsed to the floor, cringing with pain. Gakupo nearly exploded.

"It's just as I feared…" Prima muttered grimly.

"It's true, my virus filter was placed where a brain should be," Zatsune Miku scoffed, "But my storage system is definitely NOT in my chest at all! DUMBASS!"

She placed fists on her hips and cackled bitterly. "What, you thought I'd lose all my memories or some shit? I'd shut down and die? Turn retarded? HA! You're kidding me. Right where my 'key' organ should be isn't anything you assumed—it was my BLOOD SUPPLY! Or should I say OIL, right? HAHA!"

She placed a hand on the glass shard stabbed into her chest. "This here is keeping the oil container in place so my circuits could still run through it and I'd still operate correctly. But the fact I lost so much oil…doesn't affect me at all." She ended with a wicked smirk.

Her brother smoothly leapt from his position on the floor and muttered directly in Gakupo's face, "Same goes for me, sir."

And this started yet another tussle for that group. Gumi, as well, decided to pick herself back up and declare war once again.

"I see…" she stuttered, her bangs shadowing over her eyes as she stared passively at the trash-littered floor. "New information processed…other possibility to 'key organ' confirmed. And now…" she said, lifting her fallen body off of the car door she was leaning on, her arms dangling, her head down—

"I am certain…"

-a few shards falling from the fragmented glass of the goggles on her head, she looks up—

"…I will take you down."

Her opponent was slightly taken aback by such confidence, but quickly shot back a sneer.

"Good luck, nee."

And so two battles waged on, three garbage mounds away from each other. The second Gakupo looked over and saw Gumi sluggishly dodging Zatsune's swift kicks, he choked on his breath and called out, "Gumi-!"

At last, the ravenette struck her opponent, smashing her to the ground. Gumi skid across the garbage-cluttered ground, losing more and more energy by the second. Her shattered goggles fell off her head and clattered to the floor. Zatsune Miku only smirked, planning her next strike to be the final one. But two certain little kids wouldn't let her get away with that.

The woman felt something below her shift as she prepared to leap and kick once again. Startled, she halted, but this did her no justice. Before she knew it, she flew in the air, a net suddenly blocking her vision. The same predicament occurred to her brother as he planned to strike his violet-haired opponent.

"Wh—wh?" the dumbfounded raven-haired woman stammered, as her brother did, until they realized—they were caught in a trap.

Kaito looked up and cheered with amazement, "RIN! LEN!"

The two stuck their tongues out gleefully and snickered.

At the same time, a girl with rose-colored hair appeared in between the old pervert and the teal-haired Miku, grabbing both by the back of their collars.

"I'll be taking these," she announced, as everyone gawked at her.

"Wh-WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Zatsune Miku shrieked, clawing at the dangling net she was trapped in. "We were TRAPPED?"

"These guys ran into Prima and I as we hid in secret, waiting for our moves…" Gumi explained, her voice still weak, "They told me they would set up the traps while you were all distracted battling, and Prima and I would lead you to them…

"No way!" Zatsune Miku threw a tantrum before shouting at her brother, "C'mon, Aniki! We're strong enough to get out of this net, let's tear it apart!"

Her brother couldn't even get a nod in, however, when they noticed something falling from the darkening sky.

Rain.

As the angels' tears fell onto the Zatsunes' skin, they froze in horror.

"G-Goddamn…" Mikuo stammered, "Why did we have to be made out of trash dump metal?"

"O-Our insides are wide open!" his sister continued, "The metal in us will rust!"

They continued screaming as Meiko, Miriam, Sweet Ann, Leon and Lola arrived and everyone minus the Zatsunes and Hatsune Miku began berating the worthless old pervert that created those disasters mercilessly. They left the man, nothing more than a bag of skin holding broken bones and a failing heart, in the pouring rain in that garbage dump—an unforgiving Kaito decided this. Gakupo rushed to Gumi's side and gathered her in his arm before the entire team left the scene, sprinting home with their tealette at last.

While the Zatsune siblings managed to tear themselves out of the net they were trapped in and tumble to the floor, their broken parts quickly began rusting and ceased operating correctly. As they slowly met their end, collapsed on the floor of that desolate garbage dump, they said their final words to each other.

"So, this is it, nee, Aniki…" the girl murmured, her eyes fading, as though all her sass and wickedness was dying with her.

"We should have not underestimated those brats…" replied her brother, also losing his liveliness.

"It's true, Aniki…I saw that girl's tears when her friends arrived…" the woman twisted her stiff head to face the gloomy sky.

"That girl…really has a Krydia, doesn't she?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) EEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH? REAAAAAAAAAAALLY? Oh, Kaito's gunna love this. Unless it's not true. OH NOEZ DON'T DAI ZATSUNESSSSS**

_**Random end-of-chapter babblings with Koe!:**_

**One of my fav reviewers, Luminous Snow, suggested this great anime/manga Mirai Nikki to me. Idk why I've never heard of it before XD I love it. I'm reading the manga currently. It is A WHOLE LOT LIKE Higurashi, so you should watch that anime and compare how CLOSE Rena from Higurashi and Yuno from Mirai Nikki are in terms of personality, weapons of choice and even appearance. Both of them have similar appearances, stalk a guy, go pretty crazy and do some not-so-lovely things, even carry AN AXE. Ya, both of them do. Which is why I love Mirai Nikki, cuz it has that crazyness that Higurashi has. ~~~uiiii~~~**

**Well, see you in a week or two! LOVE YOU OwO!**


	15. Chapter 15: Act Two Dinner

**(A/N) . . . owo"" dontkillme *hides***

**I ZO ZORRYYYY T^T I totally have been meaning to write a freaking new chapter for a while, but...but...uwa T^T First I got a friggin virus on the computer that lasted a week, then writer's block (horrible horrible writer's block!) and then a power outage that lasted FOREVER and then finally I was just like THAT'S IT! And wrote a chapter. I'M GOING TO TRY TO FOLLOW A SCHEDULE NOW, and get committed to writing my beloved stories. So I'mma try to write A Kiss every Monday and Wednesday, and Crimson every Friday and Sunday. So I can punch writer's block in the face. I consider this Act 2 though btw, and I think I should take a little break after every act (which will most likely be approx. every 15 chapters.) Thanks for waiting, all my beloved readers! :3 ENJOY ACT TWO OF A KISS AND A MELODY~**

* * *

><p><strong>ACT TWO<strong>

The minute the team arrived home, Miku by their side at last, they all got busy doing one thing—preparing dinner.

"You really don't have to!" Gakupo smiled humbly, a sleeping Gumi still in his arms, "We have ourselves our own shelter—"

"—So what's for dinner, Meimei~?" Sonika interrupted his excuse as she plopped down on a living room couch, stretching her legs, receiving a glare from the violet-haired man, who just hated getting interrupted.

Meiko would not take "no" for an answer, anyway—she was already absorbed in preparing dinner in the kitchen, and likely wasn't even listening to Gakupo anyway, as she flew through cabinet after cabinet and lit the stove. Miriam chuckled, knowing Meiko was in her "zone", and answered the famished girl for her.

"From the looks of it, spaghetti," the blonde said as she gathered pillows and a rolled-up blanket from a closet in the living room. "Gakupo, come this way, we can rest Gumi in the room over here," she added, shuffling through the hallway with him following.

"Spaghetti?" Sonika exclaimed, "YUM! Put some pineapples in my serving!"

"Put some citrus in mine, please!" waving her hand in the air, Rin shouted to Meiko.

"Bleeeehh, citrus? Gross!" Len stuck his tongue out at his sister, who glared at him, before turning to the kitchen and announcing, "I'd like some sliced bananas in my serving!"

"Are you kidding? Bananas could never taste good with spaghetti!" Rin hissed, but halted when she saw Sonika wrap her arms around the blond-haired boy.

"Aww, bananas in your spaghetti? That's so cute~" she giggled, causing the boy to fidget uncomfortably. This made Rin's glare extra strong, but no matter how much fire it held, it could not burn through Sonika's wall of obliviousness.

"Uhm…" Miki stood to the side of the scene timidly. "Would it be weird…to have cherries in the spaghetti…?"

Sonika, Rin and Len blinked at her, before all three of them leapt towards her, Sonika glomping her to the floor.

"NO~!" they gushed in unison. "IT'S CUTE~!"

"U-UWAAA!" Miki cried, suffocating under Sonika's embrace.

"Can I just get a glass of wine?" Prima slumped on a chair at the dinner table, exhausted.

"Agreed," Sweet Ann flopped onto the chair next to her.

"I would just like my spaghetti topped with a scoop of ice cream, please~" said Kaito, almost in a daze.

"U-Us too," offered Leon and Lola, tiptoeing near the blue-haired boy, but immediately whimpered and dived inside their "Trash Box" when he shot his menacing glare at the two.

"Gah, those two never learn…" Kaito sighed, but his thoughts were cut off when he felt someone lightly tug his sleeve. He looked over to see it was Miku, her expression slightly anxious.

"I don't understand," she murmured, "Who were all those people, and why'd you take me from them…?"

Kaito stared at her wistfully. It wasn't like she'd be able to understand her past, anyway…

He ended up merely patting her head. "Those were just some bad guys that wanted to do not so nice things, so we had to stop them."

His explanation caused the tealette to tilt her head to the side. A distance away, Luka solemnly observed the girl as she did this. _She was so different from what she once was…_

_But of course, _Luka quickly decided. That girl standing before her was a Vocaloid, devoid of feelings, of a heart. Whenever the girl's impassive eyes find themselves gazing at Luka, she knows there's no spark of remembrance of the rose-haired girl, let alone forgiveness for what she did so long ago…

But, even so…a small, small piece of her still believed Miku could somehow regain those lost memories, those fragments of a time distant in the past…

_What is this…hope…? _Luka found herself wondering. _Could it be…the effects of a Krydia…?_

She immediately shook these thoughts away, however, as Prima acknowledged her, wine glass in hand.

"That was really amazing action back there," she said, referring to the plan that took part in the Wastelands.

Luka blinked at the woman before nodding frankly. "Right," replied she, "That was good cooperation."

Len tried avoiding eye contact with the rosy-haired woman, because he knew he had down talked her, though she proved to be of help. She didn't seem to care, however, so his supercilious ways got the best of him, and he didn't feel the need to apologize.

"I wouldn't imagine you have very nice shelter, Luka?" pondered Prima. It was very hard to find good shelter alone as an android, let alone live in it.

Luka choked on her breath and sharply brought her gaze to the floor. "O-Oh, I…I get by," she mumbled, but this only caused Prima's stare to soften.

"It's alright, Luka," she cooed, "We have plenty of room at our home for another person."

"I told you, I'm fi—" Luka attempted, but was knocked off-balance by a glomping Sonika.

"WEEEEEEE! We get a new house-buddy, house-buddyyyy!" she squealed as her victim attempted prying her off of her, shouting "G-GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!" in an embarrassed tone.

Sweet Ann chuckled, resting her chin in her hands, her elbows propped on the table. "These guys are just so lively."

"It's decided then~!" Prima sang, before bringing her smile to a startled Miki. "Miki, would you like to live with us as well?"

The redhead blushed, fiddling with her fingers. "That would be wonderful…" she murmured.

"Where do you guys live, anyway?" mused Miriam, who was back with Gakupo from giving Gumi some rest.

"Ah, it was an old barn in the woods on the other side of the school we managed to shape up," replied Prima, taking another sip of her wine. "It now could be called a 'house', you know~? Heheh."

"DINNER IS READY~!" Meiko suddenly declared, and as if on cue, Miriam trotted to the kitchen to gather plates.

"Pineapples for Sonika, citrus on Rin's, banana slices in Len's, cherries over Miki's, a dollop of ice cream on Kaito's! I processed it all!" she proclaimed, dumping spoons of spaghetti on the plates.

"That sounds so gross…" mumbled Ann.

"Pineapples are never gross~" Sonika sang, skipping to the dinner table.

"Can you make an extra plate for Gumi, please?" smiled Gakupo.

"Gotcha~!" Meiko called back, and began serving dinner.

* * *

><p>"ITADAKIMASU!"<p>

Everyone began eating the food, and Sonika was the first one to squeal with bliss, "DELICIOUS~!"

Meiko beamed triumphantly as Miki placed a hand to her cheek.

"I must say, that battle in the Wastelands was quite exciting," she giggled.

"Who was that old guy, anyway?" Len asked through mouthfuls.

"A sad, lonely piece of garbage that tried using Miku for his own benefits," Kaito answered darkly, without hesitation, slightly frightening the rest of the table.

Miku tilted her head, but then her eyes widened slightly with understand and she nodded. "I didn't like it, so that's why I pushed him away."

Kaito nearly choked when he heard these words. He snapped his head towards her. That's human instinct!

Luka gawked as well, before her eyes met Kaito's. Though, suddenly, his expression turned into something of sadness and somberness. She knew he was simply trying to pass this off as some sort of coincidence. He straightened up, clearing his throat.

"Good, that was a wise choice, Miku," he at last spoke.

Meiko saw the look in his eyes, and frowned sympathetically. It wasn't his fault, but he suffered so much…

"However," brought up Prima, "We still are on our quest to find the whereabouts of where the government keeps their prisoners."

"R-Right!" Miki agreed, enthusiasm in her voice, "We'll be able to find out the truth behind our creation and everything, right?"

Prima nodded. "But only if we try."

"You're trying to find where the government is keeping captured creators and creations?" asked Meiko, and her eyes widened more when she saw Prima's affirming nod.

"What!" Ann exclaimed, "Seriously? That takes balls! The government could catch you and torment you to death!"

"If we go out and try, sure some of us will get hurt!" Sonika spoke up, "But if we do nothing, all of us, every single creation still operating will hurt forever! We have to do something! I'M ALL IN FOR SACRIFICE!" she slammed the table, shooting her arm into the air in proclamation, Gakupo mimicking her vigor with a "As am I!", though both of them were beat in the head by a pestered Ann, and slumped in their chairs.

"If we're going to make a difference, I'd like to assist you all," said Leon sincerely. His confidence caused Lola to gaze at him wistfully, before snapping her head towards the rest of the table and announcing, "I wanna help out too!"

Ann saw the looks in everyone's eyes, and sighed. "Humph~ I guess I'll help out, if it's for the good of our people." _And if it will help me find my siblings…_

"My, my, I suppose I'd like to join in on the fun if even Ann is interested in it," chuckled Miriam.

Meiko placed both fists on her hips and snickered. "I don't wanna be left out!"

Prima beamed at everyone. "How wonderful, all of you!"

However, she couldn't help but notice Luka remain silent. Luka wasn't there when she discussed her plans in the clubroom, after all…did she not want to join?

Luka was deep in thought, her arms folded under her chest.

"Taking action, you say…" she mumbled.

"Yeah, action!" shouted Sonika vivaciously.

The rose-haired woman merely smirked. "I've never seen this before. I probably will never see this again. I suppose I should assist you and see how this goes." She at last decided.

Prima's grinned widened, a brilliant smile fit for the striking beauty in her face. "Thank you, everyone!"

"Yay~!" Rin cheered, "A great dinner and new teammates!"

"That certainly sounds like something to cheer about!"

Suddenly, a chilling, rather familiar voice sliced through the laughter at the table, replacing it with a cold, deathly silence. Rin's eyes bulged—the hissing voice was right behind her.

"Though, this dinner looks lovely, why didn't you save any for us?"

Behind them all, to raven-haired siblings eyed the remaining food on everyone's plates, licking their lips in a crazed fashion.

Rin shrieked, jolting out of her seat. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!"

"You're supposed to be dead!" Lola exclaimed, "But your faces are all fixed and you're not rusted or anything!"

"Get out of this house _immediately!_" Gakupo demanded, slamming his hands against the table as he stood up.

"Hey, hey, give us time to explain!" Zatsune Miku pleaded, though mischief still rich in her voice. "Our master's dead, we don't have any order to kill you or anything, so we could care less about making you guys our rivals or whatever."

"Then why are you here?" growled Len.

"Shut it, you shrimp," the ravenette hissed back.

"WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME?" barked Len. Zatsune Miku was about to counter him, but was stopped by her brother's raised hand and his words.

"Sis." He said calmly, "Now, everyone, you're wondering how we're alive, isn't that right? To tell you the truth, we were saved by someone."

"Yup!" his sister suddenly smiled cheerfully, "Someone who took us out of the rain and knew how to piece us back together!"

"Someone? Who?" inquired Meiko.

"No idea~" Zatsune Miku shrugged, as her brother continued: "It was a mysterious man who seemed to have been watching the fight the whole time. We only know two things for sure about him: one, he is a fellow Vocaloid; and two, he knew where you guys live."

"Eh?" stammered Ann. "How…?"

"How else would we have gotten here?" the ravenette girl said with a bored expression. "Anyways, he left the scene after saving us, and supplied us with umbrellas, kihi~"

The table of people looked around at each other with confused glances. Who could the mystery man be?

Miriam's eyes suddenly grew wide, and she started to tremble. The mystery man…couldn't be someone she knew, could it? It couldn't be…him, could it?

She began to grow paler and paler at the thought. She thought he had no idea where she lived, but now…

_Could it…be…?_

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><p><strong>(AN) LEGASP THEY'RE ALIVE. And there's a mystery man? And what's with this situation with Miriam? AND KAITO PUTS ICE CREAM ON HIS SPAGHETTI!**

**I'm curious, out of all the colorful characters in this that I (HOPE I) supplied distinct personalities to, who's your favorite character in this fanfiction~? Idk if I made their personalities abnormal to how they are usually portrayed in other fanfics. I kind of wanted Kaito to be this cool guy rather than a babbling idiot, Len and Rin to be feisty little kiddos (yet Rin has a girly side~), Luka's more of the cool, almost tsundere type xD Miki to me looks like a timid type x3 Sonika...is Sonika. She kind of just ended up being a mix between Orihime and...Naruto. (OHJESUS THE STUPIDITY) And Miku always gets so much attention all the time, I kind of wanted the story to revolve around her, but also give all the other characters their chance to shine, so her personality is not as..er, flamboyant as the rest. I ended up making her very much like Chii~ I love them all though-who's YOUR favorite?**

_**Random end-of-chapter babblings with Koe:**_

__**NIIGAKI RISA IS GRADUATING MORNING MUSUME. *Kills self* She was so amazing! ;A; PLEASE SUPPORT HER, MOMUSU FANS!**

**I am loving Vocaloid3~ They are improving~ SeeU's my fav, and her friggin smexy genderbender (I call him Usee. x3333)**

**Fanfiction seems to not be working lately, I can't access my Umineko RP Forum, nor can my members. I hope they fix this problem soon~! Welp, see you guys around~!**


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